Dollar steadies in Asia

The dollar steadied on Friday following a rally against its peers overnight, as investors awaited US economic growth data, which could give a fresh catalyst for direction amid a wider focus on global monetary policy and bond yield direction. The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six major currencies, stood little changed at 94.719. It had risen 0.4 percent overnight to pull away from a two-week trough of 94.084 as the euro slid sharply after the European Central Bank kept to its planned timetable to move away from its accommodative monetary policy.
While the euro's downturn provided the dollar with a significant lift, the US currency enjoyed support from other quarters as well. "The dollar is higher across the board and this reflects the lift it is enjoying from fundamental factors, notably higher US yields and Wall Street shares amid improving risk appetite," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
The euro was virtually flat at $1.1643. The single currency had sunk more than 0.7 percent on Thursday following the ECB's policy meeting. Taking the wind out of euro bulls' sails, the ECB said it would stay on course to end its 2.6 trillion euro stimulus programme this year and keep rates at a record low level through the summer of 2019. The US currency was 0.2 percent lower at 110.99 yen, unable to hold gains after rising briefly to 111.25.
The dollar was 0.4 percent lower against the yen for the week, during which it pulled away from a six-month high above 113 yen scaled on July 19. The dollar's retreat came after US President Donald Trump expressed displeasure over the currency's strength and amid speculation that the BoJ could scale back its massive monetary stimulus soon. The pound was flat at $1.3113. It had dropped 0.6 percent overnight as a stronger dollar and mounting uncertainty over Brexit negotiations offset the positive impact of bets on a Bank of England interest rate hike next week.
The Australian dollar was 0.15 percent higher at $0.7388, recovering a bit of ground after the previous day's tumble. The Aussie, often seen as a liquid proxy of China-related trades, had fallen 1 percent on Thursday amid a drop in Chinese equities.