U.S. Dollar Firms After Fed Williams' Hawkish Remarks

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar moved up against its most major counterparts in the New York session on Friday, as a Federal Reserve official played down prospects of an interest rate cut in March.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams told CNBC's "Squawk Box" the Fed is not "really talking about rate cuts right now" and is focused on whether monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive to ensure inflation comes back down to 2 percent.

Williams' remarks followed this week's Fed's monetary policy announcement that had signalled three rate cuts next year.

Meanwhile, New York manufacturing activity showed a substantial downturn in the month of December.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index plunged to a negative 14.5 in December after surging to a positive 9.1 in November, with a negative reading indicating a contraction. Economists had expected the index to fall to a positive 2.0.

The greenback advanced to 0.8698 against the franc, 1.0904 against the euro and 1.2698 against the pound, off its early lows of 0.8652, 1.1003 and 1.2790, respectively. The currency is poised to find resistance around 0.90 against the franc, 1.06 against the euro and 1.24 against the pound.

The greenback strengthened to 0.6663 against the aussie and 0.6177 against the kiwi, from its early lows of 0.6725 and 0.6226, respectively. The greenback may find resistance around 0.64 against the aussie and 0.60 against the kiwi.

In contrast, the greenback depreciated to 1.3373 against the loonie, its lowest level since August 10. The currency may possibly face support around the 1.29 level.

The greenback was down against the yen, at 141.42. If the greenback falls further, it is likely to test support around the 134.00 region.