US dollar mixed amid economic data

The US dollar traded mixed against other major currencies as investors continued to sifting a batch of economic data.

In late New York trading on Friday, the euro decreased to $1.1775 from $1.1799 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to $1.3482 from $1.3508 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar rose to $0.7511 from $0.7509.

The US dollar bought 110.67 Japanese yen, lower than 110.74 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar decreased to 0.9977 Swiss franc from 1.0013 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.2878 Canadian dollars from 1.2797 Canadian dollars.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield eased back slightly in Friday's late trading after a record high of over 3.1 per cent on Thursday, the first time since 2011.

The yield, a barometer for mortgage rates and other financial instruments, has jumped recently amid market fears of rising inflation, which sparked investors' speculation about more rate hikes later this year.

Although investors did not receive much new catalyst in the way of economic data on Friday, analysts pointed out that the recent climb in US Treasury yields came after a flood of news earlier this week continued to underpin the appetite for the currency.

On Thursday, the Labor Department said new applications for US jobless benefits increased more than anticipated, but the number of Americans on unemployment fell to its lowest level since 1973.

In the week ending May 12, new applications for US jobless benefits stood at a seasonally adjusted 222,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000, it said.

Meanwhile, investors were anxiously watching the ongoing US-China trade talks in Washington.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.18 per cent at 93.638 in late trading.

--IANS

pgh/