U.S. Dollar Advances As Retail Sales Improve

The U.S. dollar was trading in a positive territory against its major rivals in European deals on Friday, after retail sales rose slightly more than anticipated in January, partly led by an increase in auto sales.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales climbed by 0.2 percent in January compared to economist estimates for a 0.1 percent uptick.

The report also showed that retail sales in December rose by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent.

Excluding auto sales, retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in January, matching the revised increase in December. Economists had expected ex-auto sales to come in unchanged.

Meanwhile, data from the the Labor Department showed a notable decrease in U.S. import prices in the month of January, mainly due to another steep drop in fuel prices.

The report said import prices tumbled by 1.1 percent in January, matching the revised decrease reported for December. Economists had expected import prices to slump by 1.5 percent.

The Labor Department also said export prices slid by 0.8 percent in January after plunging by 1.1 percent in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to drop by 0.6 percent.

The prospectus for a March rate hike has receded after the Fed Chair Janet Yellen sounded cautious about the state of global economy in her Congressional testimony and indicated weak growth across the globe would have spillover effects in U.S. economic growth and slow the pace of Fed rate hikes.

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

The greenback bounced to 1.4484 against the pound, from a 2-day low of 1.4570 hit at 5:10 am ET. The greenback is likely to find resistance around the 1.42 zone.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that British construction output grew at a slower-than-expected pace in December, after falling in the previous month.

Construction output rose 1.5 percent month-over-month in December, reversing a 1.1 percent drop in November. The expected rate of increase was 2.0 percent.

The greenback advanced to 2-day highs of 1.1228 against the euro and 0.9781 against the franc, compared to Thursday's closing values of 1.1322 and 0.9722, respectively. If the greenback extends rise, it may locate resistance near 1.10 against the euro and 0.99 against the franc.

After a brief pause, the greenback rose back to 113.16 against the Japanese yen. Further gains may take the greenback to a resistance around the 116.00 level.

The greenback climbed to 0.6643 against the NZ dollar, after having fallen to a weekly low of 0.6739 at 5:45 pm ET. On the upside, 0.65 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.

U.S. business inventories report for December and preliminary consumer sentiment index for February are due shortly.

New York Federal Reserve William Dudley will attend a press conference on household debt and credit report in New York at 10 am ET.