U.S. dollar rises amid economic data

NEW YORK, Sept. 29 — The U.S. dollar increased against most other major currencies in late trading on Friday, as investors digested a batch of economic data.
U.S. consumer sentiment topped the triple digit mark for the third time since January 2004, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey of consumers released Friday.
The index hit 100.1 in the final reading of September. However, it is below the 100.8 expected from economists polled by Reuters.
U.S. personal income increased 60.3 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent in August, while personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 46.4 billion dollars, or 0.3 percent, the Department of Commerce said Friday.
“Core PCE inflation is holding at 2%, but it is poised to drift lower in short order. If it does, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) will find it harder to justify rate hikes, especially if the curve is fully flat or even inverted,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.26 percent at 95.1393 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1610 dollars from 1.1658 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3039 dollars from 1.3087 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7223 dollar from 0.7210 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 113.57 Japanese yen, higher than 113.42 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.9792 Swiss franc from 0.9775 Swiss franc, and it dipped to 1.2921 Canadian dollars from 1.3039 Canadian dollars.