2018.07.1314:39:00UTC+00Dollar Turns Lower After Reversing Early Gains

The dollar got off to a positive start Friday, but has since reversed and is now down against its major rivals. Traders reacted negatively to the weaker than expected consumer sentiment report this morning.

Reflecting concerns about the potential impact of tariffs, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing an unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of July.

The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index dipped to 97.1 in July from the final June reading of 98.2. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.

A report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed an unexpected decrease in U.S. import prices in the month of June, although the report also showed a slightly bigger than expected increase in export prices during the month.

The Labor Department said import prices fell by 0.4 percent in June after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in May.

The pullback surprised economists, who had expected import prices to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department also said export prices rose by 0.3 percent in June following a 0.6 percent increase in May. Economists had expected export prices to edge up by 0.2 percent.

The dollar climbed to an early high of $1.1612 against the Euro Friday, but has since retreated to around $1.1675.

Germany's wholesale price inflation accelerated further in June to the highest level in nine months, data from Destatis showed Friday. Wholesale prices climbed 3.4 percent year-on-year in June, faster than the 2.9 percent increase seen in May.

President Trump remarked that Prime Minister Theresa May's current 'soft-Brexit' proposal with the EU would probably "kill" any future trade deals with the United States.

In an interview with The Sun, Trump said that PM's "soft Brexit" strategy would "affect trade with the United States, unfortunately in a negative way."

"If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the U.K., so it will probably kill the deal," Trump told the paper.

The buck rose to a high of $1.3102 against the pound sterling Friday morning, but has since eased back to around $1.3225.

The greenback advanced to a high of Y112.798 against the Japanese Yen Friday morning, but has since pulled back to around Y112.335.

Japan's industrial production declined as initially estimated in May, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Friday. Industrial production dropped a seasonally-adjusted 0.2 percent month-over-month in May, reversing 0.5 percent rise in the previous month. That was in line with the flash data published on June 29.