Dollar hovers higher despite disappointing US economic data from Investing.com

Investing.com – The US dollar flirted with sitting highs against a basket of major currencies on Friday, dismissing most of the disappointing data in the US that showed signs of economic slowdown.

The, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.35% to 96.37, just below the session high of 96.44.

The dollar remained resilient after a series of data on manufacturing, inflation and consumption that did little to wipe out the story of a slowdown in the US economy.

The preferred measure of inflation by the Federal Reserve, the price index of personal consumption expenditure (CPE) excluding food and energy, over 12 months up to December, according to economists' forecasts .

for February showed a downtick at 54.2, missing expectations of 55.5. A value greater than 50 in the ISM index indicates an expansion of the manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 12% of the US economy.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity in December, said Friday the Department of Commerce. That was missing the expectations of a 0.2% drop.

The drop in personal spending represents "the biggest drop since 2009 and contributes to giving more credibility to the catastrophic retail sales figure released a few weeks ago," BMO said in a note.

The consumer presenting a "strong apprehension" at the end of the year is more than enough to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines for the moment, the bank added.

The weakest data come just days after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell praised the strength of the US economy, although he reported headwinds or "currents opposing" growth , including a more unfavorable context for the global economy.

The greenback was also boosted by a slide in the pound sterling, as traders took profits from the pound sterling after strong rises over the week as rising expectations from the UK look to delay Brexit.

decreased 0.40% to $ 1.3208 while stable at $ 1.1370.

rose 0.53% to Y111.97, reaching its highest level in 10 weeks as sentiment of risk continues to grow, in hopes that the US and China will reach an agreement ending their bitter commercial conflict.

climbed 0.87% while the loonie was under pressure from dark data showing that it is almost losing momentum.