Dollar Retreats After Early Gains

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar climbed higher in the European session on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, but retreated later and stayed somewhat subdued thereafter and shed ground against its counterparts amid bets the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates from September.

Traders continued to note remarks from Fed officials, who mostly struck a hawkish tone on interest rate outlook on Thursday.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said that she expects progress on inflation over time, but at a slower pace than seen last year.

New York Fed President John Williams said that it's important not to overemphasize the latest positive news on inflation.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said he expects inflation to come down but may take some time.

A report from the Conference Board said that the leading economic index fell by 0.6% in April after dipping by 0.3% in March. Economists had expected the index to decrease by another 0.3%.

The dollar index, which climbed to 104.80 in the European session, dropped to 104.39 a little before noon, and was last seen at 104.48, up marginally from the previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar, edged down slightly to 1.0872. Against Pound Sterling, the dollar weakened to 1.2707, and against the Japanese currency, it firmed to 155.70 yen.

The dollar weakened to 0.6696 against the Aussie. Against Swiss franc, the dollar firmed to fetch CHF 0.9087 a unit. The loonie gained marginally against the dollar at 1.3614.