Dollar Stays Firm Against Major Rivals

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar climbed higher on Friday, extending its uptick from the previous session, a data showed inflationary pressures remained high, raising expectations the Fed will announce another sharp hike in interest rate next week.

The dollar gained in strength after the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-low interest rates and dovish stance.

Investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week for more clues about the pace of tightening in the upcoming months.

Although the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points in November, the possibility of a 50 basis point move at the subsequent meeting has risen.

Data from the Commerce Department showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 5.1% in September from 4.9% in August. Economists had expected the annual rate of growth in core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, to accelerate to 5.2%.

The report also showed personal income in the U.S. rose by slightly more than expected in the month of September, climbing by 0.4% in the month, matching the upwardly revised increase in August.

The report also showed personal spending increased by 0.6% in September following an upwardly revised 0.6% advance in August.

Revised data released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed U.S. consumer sentiment improved by slightly more than originally estimated in the month of October.

The consumer sentiment index for October was upwardly revised to 59.9 from the preliminary reading of 59.8. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.

The revised reading for October is modestly higher than the final September reading of 58.6, with the index continuing to recover from all-time low of 50.0 in June.

The dollar index rose to 111.04 and despite dropping to around 110.60 subsequently, rallied to 111.00 again before paring gains. The index was last seen at 110.70, up nearly 0.1% from the previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed 0.9929 but shed gains subsequently and was lass seen at 0.9962, up just marginally from Thursday's close.

The dollar has weakened to 1.1611 against Pound Sterling, after having firmed to 1.1504 in the Asian session.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is stronger at 147.48, gaining about 0.8%.

Against the Aussie, the dollar stronger at 0.6412, gaining from 0.6452.

The Swiss franc at 0.9963, is weak against the dollar. The Swiss currency had settled at 0.9907 a dollar on Thursday.

Against the Loonie, the dollar is strong, fetching C$1.3604 a unit, compared to the previous close of C$1.2566.