2017.08.1815:38:00UTC+00Dollar Losing Ground Heading Into The Weekend

The dollar is down against all of its major rivals Friday afternoon. On a light day for economic news, investors remained focused on the turmoil that continues to plague the Trump administration and the deadly terror attack in Spain.

In another high profile shakeup at the White House, Steve Bannon is out as President Donald Trump's chief strategist.

Bannon's departure comes as Trump has faced considerable criticism over his response to last weekend's violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The president has come under fire for comments suggesting both white supremacists and counter-protesters were to blame for the violence.

With consumer expectations showing a significant rebound, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing a much bigger than expected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of August.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for August jumped to 97.6 from the final July reading of 93.4. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 94.0.

A van mowed down pedestrians in the heart of Spain's second-largest city Barcelona on Thursday, killing at least 13 people in a terror attack claimed by Islamic State. More than 100 others were reportedly injured, many so severely that the death toll could rise.

The dollar has dropped to around $1.1765 against the Euro Friday afternoon, from an early high of $1.1709.

The euro area current account surplus declined to the lowest in nearly three years in June, the European Central Bank said Friday. The current account surplus fell to EUR 21.2 billion in June from EUR 30.5 billion in May. This was the lowest level since August 2014.

Eurozone construction output decreased for the second straight month in June, Eurostat reported Friday. Construction output declined 0.5 percent month-on-month in June, bigger than the 0.2 percent decrease seen in May.

German producer prices rose at the slowest pace so far this year in July, data from Destatis showed Friday.

Producer prices for industrial products advanced 2.3 percent year-on-year in July, slightly weaker than the 2.4 percent increase seen in June. This was the weakest since December, when prices gained 1 percent. Economists had forecast 2.2 percent annual increase.

The buck climbed to a high of $1.2831 against the pound sterling Friday, but has since eased back to around $1.2875.

The greenback rose to a high of Y109.596 against the Japanese Yen Friday, but has since retreated to around Y109.150.