US dollar falls on mixed data

The U.S. dollar declined against most major currencies on Friday as economic data from the country came out mixed.
U.S. consumer sentiment rose in December to a near eight-year high, based on better job expectation and lower gasoline prices, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment revealed on Friday. The preliminary reading edged up to 93.8 from 88.8 from the previous month, higher than market forecast of 89.5.
The U.S. producer prices decreased in November due to falling energy costs, the Labor Department said Friday. The Producer Price Index (PPI), a gauge of inflation at the factory gate, fell 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, larger than market expectations of a 0.1-percent decline.
Analysts said that inflation remained sluggish at the producer level on an average basis. The U.S. dollar was under pressure as the Federal Reserve had said that inflation persistently below 2 percent could pose risks to the economy. Investors were awaiting the closely-watched Fed's December meeting scheduled next week to get a clearer view of the timing of the first rate hike.
The Japanese yen roared against the U.S. dollar as losses in global equity markets and crude prices boosted demand for safe- haven assets.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.2451 dollars from 1.2383 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.5706 dollars from 1.5703 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.8250 dollar from 0.8256 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 118.75 Japanese yen, lower than 119.09 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar went down to 0.9645 Swiss francs from 0.9699 Swiss francs, and it moved up to 1.1568 Canadian dollars from 1.1541 Canadian dollars.