U.S. dollar soars on upbeat data

The U.S. dollar soared against other major currencies on Friday as recent economic data from the country came out overall positive, spurring market expectation for an interest-rate hike later this year.

The seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from June's reading of 51.3 to 52.9 in July, the highest level in a year, pointing to a solid improvement in overall U.S. business conditions.

Moreover, U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday that privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.189 million units, 4.8 percent above the revised May estimate. The latest reading also beat market consensus of 1.170 million.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.50 percent at a four-month high of 97.486 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0956 dollars from 1.1017 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound slipped to 1.3093 dollars from 1.3203 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7463 dollars from 0.7489 dollars.

The dollar bought 106.09 Japanese yen, higher than 105.90 yen of the previous session. The dollar rose to 0.9887 Swiss francs from 0.9865 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.3154 Canadian dollars from 1.3081 Canadian dollars. Enditem