AFP, Tokyo :
The dollar ticked up against the yen and euro Friday after days of losses linked to weak US data that have weighed on hopes for an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike.
In Tokyo, the greenback rose to 119.53 yen from 119.19 yen in New York, while the euro weakened to $1.1387 from $1.1414.
The common currency also slipped to 136.08 yen from 136.16 yen in US trade, but it was supported by bright eurozone economic growth data.
On Thursday, US producer price index fell 0.4 percent last month more than wiped out March’s first increase since October and fell well short of forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise. That came a day after news that retail sales saw their weakest year-on-year growth since 2009.
The results follow other poor recent indicators-including anaemic wage growth, a tepid manufacturing sector and weak economic growth-that have thrown cold water on hopes that the Fed will raise interest rates soon.
“We remain constructive on the US dollar but accept there is no near-term catalyst for recovery,” BNP Paribas said in a report.
The euro, meanwhile, has been buoyed this week by news the eurozone economy met expectations and grew 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter in January-March, up from 0.3 percent in the previous three months.
