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Upbeat euro zone data underpins euro
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Dollar headed for first weekly gain in nearly two months
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Focus on Fed meeting in May; rate hike priced in
(Adds comment, bullets, byline, NEW YORK dateline, FX table; updates prices)
By Amanda Cooper and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
LONDON/NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slipped against most major currencies on
Friday, as investors digested mounting evidence that growth in the world's largest economy is slowing and
priced in a likely pause in tightening by the Federal Reserve at the June meeting after a widely-expected
interest rate hike next month.
In the case of the euro, a surprising recovery in the euro zone economy in April underpinned the
currency.
The greenback, however, was headed for its first weekly gain in nearly two months on rate increase
expectations for May.
"Expected growth differentials have narrowed slightly against the dollar in the last few hours, with
better-than-expected purchasing manager indices pointing to more resilient economic activity in the UK and
euro area," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist, at Corpay in Toronto.
"We're also seeing a continued decline in implied volatility across most asset classes as investors
position for an imminent end to the global monetary tightening cycle - and that is weakening demand for
traditional safe havens," he added.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the U.S. currency against six others, slipped 0.1%
on the day to 101.70 and headed for a weekly gain of about 0.2%, its first since late February.
Elsewhere, the recovery in the euro zone unexpectedly gathered pace this month, thanks to a boom in
services sector demand compensating for a deepening decline in manufacturing.
Preliminary surveys showed that same dynamic in Germany and France, the region's two largest economies.
The euro was last up 0.1% against the dollar at $1.095 , but recovered from a session low of $1.0938. Against sterling, it rose 0.4% to 88.46 pence. But the story this week has been focused on the dollar as investors braced for the end of the Fed's tightening cycle. Fed officials have been at pains to point out that inflation remains uncomfortably high and rates must keep rising. Money markets show traders believe there will be a quarter-point U.S. rate hike next month, which in theory is supportive of the dollar, followed by a pause in June. The rate futures market has also priced in rate cuts this year as the economy slows. "Although economic activity is cooling, rate differentials are still dollar-supportive, and the U.S. remains the cleanest dirty shirt on the global economic landscape," Corpay's Schamotta said. In other currencies, sterling fell 0.2% to $1.2412, having dropped by as much as 0.54% earlier on. The yen was one of the stronger performers after data showed Japanese consumer inflation held steady above the central bank's target in March, putting pressure on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to ditch its ultra-loose monetary policy stance. Incoming Governor Kazuo Ueda chairs his first BOJ policy meeting next week. The dollar fell 0.5% against the Japanese unit to 133.605 yen.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:41AM (1341 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change
Session
Dollar index 101.6600 101.7800 -0.11% -1.768% +102.0700 +101.6400
Euro/Dollar $1.0992 $1.0972 +0.18% +2.58% +$1.0993 +$1.0938
Dollar/Yen 133.5550 134.2400 -0.51% +1.87% +134.2800 +133.5500
Euro/Yen 146.80 147.27 -0.32% +4.63% +147.3000 +146.4100
Dollar/Swiss 0.8909 0.8925 -0.17% -3.64% +0.8953 +0.8909
Sterling/Dollar $1.2415 $1.2444 -0.23% +2.66% +$1.2446 +$1.2377
Dollar/Canadian 1.3533 1.3479 +0.41% -0.11% +1.3542 +1.3467
Aussie/Dollar $0.6706 $0.6743 -0.53% -1.61% +$0.6745 +$0.6678
Euro/Swiss 0.9790 0.9789 +0.01% -1.05% +0.9803 +0.9787
Euro/Sterling 0.8851 0.8814 +0.42% +0.08% +0.8861 +0.8813
NZ $0.6155 $0.6178 -0.37% -3.06% +$0.6180 +$0.6127
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway 10.5780 10.6000 -0.08% +7.93% +10.6790 +10.5810
Euro/Norway 11.6242 11.6099 +0.12% +10.77% +11.6940 +11.5896
Dollar/Sweden 10.3088 10.3054 +0.24% -0.95% +10.3581 +10.2986
Euro/Sweden 11.3280 11.3010 +0.24% +1.60% +11.3407 +11.2990
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill, Susan Fenton, Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)
rm://gertrude.chavez.reuters.com@reuters.net))