Dollar Climbs After Upward Revision To U.S. GDP Data; Yellen's Speech Due

The U.S. dollar strengthened against its most major rivals in mid-European trading on Friday, after data showed that the U.S. economy expanded faster than the initial estimate in the first quarter, supporting expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase in June.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that the U.S. economic growth was stronger than previously estimated in the first quarter, although the pace of growth still reflects a significant slowdown.

The report said the pace of growth in gross domestic product was upwardly revised to 0.8 percent from the initial estimate of 0.5 percent.

Nonetheless, the revised GDP growth in the first quarter compares to the 1.4 percent jump seen in the fourth quarter and the 0.9 percent increase expected by economists.

Traders now await the University of Michigan's revised report on consumer sentiment in May, due shortly. The consumer sentiment index is expected to be downwardly revised to 95.5 from the mid-month reading of 95.8, which represented an eleven-month high.

At 1:15 pm ET, Yellen is scheduled to speak with Harvard Professor Gregory Mankiw and receive an award from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Traders are likely to closely scrutinize Yellen's remarks for any hints regarding whether the Fed intends to raise interest rates at its meeting next month.

The greenback showed mixed performance in Asian deals. While the currency held steady against the franc, euro and the pound, it declined against the yen.

The greenback climbed to 1.1153 against the euro, after having fallen to 1.1201 at 2:00 am ET. On the upside, the greenback is likely to find resistance around the 1.10 area.

Data from the Bank of Italy and the Centre for Economic Policy Research showed that a measure of the current economic situation in the euro area declined for a fourth straight month in May, amid an industrial slowdown and low inflation.

The euro-coin indicator dropped to 0.26 from 0.28 in April.

The greenback rose back to 1.4623 against the pound, heading closer to pierce its early 2-day high of 1.4620. Further uptrend may see the greenback challenging resistance around the 1.45 mark.

The latest survey from GfK showed that the U.K. consumer confidence showed a bit of improvement in May but remained pessimistic, with an index score of -1.

That beat forecasts for -4 and was an improvement over April's -3, although it still was negative.

Reversing from an early low of 0.9885 against the Swiss franc, the greenback edged up to 0.9915. The greenback is seen finding resistance around the 1.01 mark.

The greenback was trading in a positive territory against the kiwi, with the pair trading at 0.6720. Against the aussie, it advanced to 0.7198. Continuation of the greenback's uptrend may see it finding resistance around 0.665 against the kiwi and 0.71 against the aussie.

Extending early rally, the greenback strengthened to a 2-day high of 1.3068 against the Canadian dollar. This marks a 0.7 percent gain from Thursday's closing value of 1.2977. The greenback is likely to test resistance around the 1.32 region.

On the flip side, the greenback declined to 109.48 against the Japanese yen, compared to 109.76 hit late New York Thursday. On the downside, 108.00 is likely seen as the next support level for the greenback-yen pair.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that Japan's consumer prices fell 0.3 percent on year in April.

That beat forecasts for -0.4 percent, although it weakened from -0.1 percent in March.