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Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose Friday, climbing above two-week lows, but remains at weak levels as traders digested the new climate surrounding global trade ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
At 04:35 ET (08:35 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, gained 0.2% to 97.340, but was still on course for a weekly drop of around 1%, its weakest performance in a month.
Dollar sees some support
The dollar has managed to find a little support as the week draws to a close, helped by talk of future trade deals with the European Union and China, two of America’s largest trading partners.
The European Commission said earlier this week that a negotiated solution was in reach ahead of the August 1 deadline, while officials of both the U.S. and China will meet in Stockholm next week to discuss an extension of the deal negotiation deadline.
However, eyes are now turning to next week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve for clues over where the U.S. currency goes next.
The Fed is widely expected to hold rates at next week’s policy meeting, but traders will focus on the subsequent comments to gauge the timing of the next move.
“We’re still of the opinion that the dollar can find a little stability this summer on higher inflation and delayed Fed rate cuts – but clearly this view stands against pervasive dollar pessimism in the market,” said analysts at ING, in a note.
Euro remains near four-year high
In Europe, EUR/USD fell 0.1% to 1.1745, but the single currency remains not far from $1.183, the near four-year high it touched at the start of the month.
The European Central Bank left its policy rate unchanged at 2% on Thursday, ending a year of policy easing, to await clarity over future U.S. trade ties.
ECB President Christine Lagarde described the economy as resilient and a little better than expected at the subsequent press conference, but data released earlier Friday showed that German business morale improved less than expected in July.
The Ifo institute said its business climate index rose to 88.6 in July from 88.4 in June, below the 89.0 reading forecast.
"The upturn in the German economy remains anaemic," Ifo president Clemens Fuest said.
GBP/USD dropped 0.4% to 1.3468, after the release of data showing U.K. retail sales volumes increased by 0.9% month-on-month in June, falling short of the expected 1.2% gain and recovering less than a third of May’s 2.8% decline.
Household goods retailers faced particular challenges, with sales dropping 0.1% month-on-month for the second consecutive month as the housing market continued to struggle following stamp duty changes.
Yen slips after weak inflation data
Elsewhere, USD/JPY traded 0.5% higher to 147.71, after data on Friday showed that Tokyo consumer price index inflation eased more than expected in July, even as the core measure remained above the BOJ’s target.
The central bank is expected to hold interest rates steady next week amid U.S. tariffs and domestic political flux.
AUD/USD dropped 0.4% to 0.6568, but was still on course for a weekly gain of around 1% in the wake of the trade deal between Japan and the U.S., while USD/CNY gained 0.2% to 7.1672.