1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar rises against euro to 11-year high

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Friday and climbed against the euro to nearly 11-year high as investors speculated that the European Central Bank (ECB) was moving closer to a bond-buying program.

The euro was under pressure as the Swiss National Bank surprisingly scraped the cap of Swiss franc against the euro on Thursday. Analysts said the bank's move showed a lack of confidence in the euro and thus increased speculation that the ECB would unveil a bond-buying program during a policy meeting on Jan. 22 to fight deflation.

The greenback soared against the euro and touched 1.1460 per euro during the session, the strongest level since November 2003.

On the U.S. economic front, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers declined 0.4 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, led by plunging gasoline prices, the U.S. Labor Department said.

Analysts said the lack of inflation pressure would give the Federal Reserve more space to sustain its current low interest rate.

Moreover, U.S. industrial production decreased 0.1 percent in December 2014 after rising 1.3 percent in November, the Fed reported.

However, U.S. consumer sentiment came out upbeat thanks to lower crude prices. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary January reading of consumer sentiment index surged to 98.2, the highest level since January 2004, well above market consensus of 94.0.

In late New York trading, the euro moved down to 1.1587 dollars from 1.1612 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.5171 dollars from 1.5188 dollars. The Australian dollar rose to 0.8238 dollars from 0.8224 dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 117.45 Japanese yen, higher than 116.52 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar went down to 0.8543 Swiss francs from 0.8724 Swiss francs, and it dropped to 1.1962 Canadian dollars from 1.1969 Canadian dollars. Endite