The dollar drifted lower in Europe on Friday as an agreement on U.S. infrastructure spending underpinned appetite for riskier currencies, but caution ahead of key U.S. inflation data kept losses to a minimum.
The risk-sensitive Antipodean currencies rose, as did the euro EUR=EBS , gaining 0.1% to $1.1943, and the Japanese yen JPY=EBS , which rose by about the same margin to 110.77 per dollar.
Such small moves left most of the dollar’s recent gains intact, after it was vaulted higher in the wake of a surprise shift in policy outlook from the Federal Reserve – which last week flagged sooner-than-expected interest rate rises.
Inflation data due later on Friday will offer the latest indication of how much pressure the Fed is under to move, as will labour market figures due in a week’s time – leaving traders unwilling to sell the dollar too hard just in case it bounces again soon.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the core personal consumption expenditures index to post its fastest rise in nearly three decades, with year-on-year gains of 3.4%. The data is due at 1230 GMT.
“…The consensus is already expecting quite a large increase in the May PCE inflation data – looking for 3.9% YoY headline and 3.4% YoY core,” said strategists at ING in a note to clients.
