Dollar steadies after sliding overnight on weak U.S. data

The dollar steadied in early Asian trade on Friday after sliding overnight on bleak economic outlook due to weak U.S. data. The safe-haven yen stabilized after climbing against the dollar and the euro the previous day.

The dollar lost gains after the Federal Reserve revised its 2020 GDP forecast. It last stood at 92.866 against a basket of currencies and on track for a 0.3% weekly decline.

U.S. unemployment claims remained at 860,000. The Federal Reserve said that it expected the U.S. economy to contract less than initially expected in 2020 and promised to keep rates ultra-low for longer.

The yen last traded at 104.76 on the dollar after reaching a seven-week high of 104.52 on Thursday. Against the euro, the yen sat near the 1 ½-month high of 123.29 hit overnight.

The pound bought $1.2986 after losing one cent on Thursday, following the Bank of England’s stance of considering implementing negative interest rates.

The euro was little changed at 1.1853 on the dollar on Friday. Investors are awaiting the eurozone PMI next week, which could potentially bring the single currency back to the 1.19 level against the dollar.

The Aussie and kiwi were slightly stronger in Asia, with the Aussie up 0.15% to $0.7323 and the kiwi 0.34% higher at $0.6778. The Swiss franc last stood at 0.9078 on the dollar.

In offshore trade, the yuan stood at 6.7524 per dollar, up 6% from lows hit in late May.