777tradesresearch

The euro was a shade lower at $1.1636 (EUR=), firmly on the back foot after slumping almost 0.9 percent overnight.

 

The single currency was hit by concerns around heavily-indebted Italy's handling of its budget.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed on Wednesday to start trade talks in an arrangement that, for now, protects Japanese automakers from further tariffs, seen as a major threat to the export-dependent economy.

Dollar holds firm after upbeat data, hovers near nine-month high vs yen

 

The dollar stood tall against its peers on Friday, hovering near a nine-month high versus the yen, after data reinforced upbeat views about the U.S. economy and backed the Federal Reserve's signal for a steady course of rate increases over the next year.

 

U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 4.2 percent clip in the second quarter, the fastest in nearly four years, according to government data on Thursday. Another report showed durable goods rose 4.5 percent in August, rebounding from a revised 1.2 percent drop the month before.

 

The dollar traded at 113.395 yen after gaining roughly 0.6 percent overnight to 113.47, its highest since December 2017.

 

The decline in U.S. Treasury yields slowed in the wake of the upbeat data, underpinning the dollar. Yields had declined sharply after the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy on Wednesday and stuck to its intention of hiking interest rates at a steady pace.