U.S. dollar falls on downbeat data

The U.S. dollar declined against most major currencies Friday as the economic data from the country came out negative.

The Federal Reserve reported Friday that U.S. industrial production dropped 0.6 percent in March for two months in a row, far below market consensus of a 0.1-percent decrease.

In the previous session, the U.S. Labor Department announced that the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increase 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February, lower than market consensus.

Analysts said the recent downbeat economic data may keep the Federal Reserve cautious in raising interest rates.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.23 percent at 94.688 in late trading Friday.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1285 U.S. dollars from 1.1267 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.4209 U.S. dollars from 1.4155 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7718 dollar from 0.7702 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 108.71 Japanese yen, lower than 109.26 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar increased to 0.9677 Swiss franc from 0.9667 Swiss franc but inched down to 1.2839 Canadian dollars from 1.2844 Canadian dollars. Endit