2018.08.2414:38:00UTC+00Dollar Trading Lower As Week Draws To A Close

The dollar is down modestly against its major rivals Friday afternoon. Traders were in a cautious mood this morning, ahead of remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome at the Kansas City Fed's economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Powell reiterated the Fed's stance that further gradual increases in interest rates will likely be appropriate if the strong growth in income and jobs continues.

Traders also continue to keep a close eye on the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The two-day trade talks between the Chinese delegation led by the country's Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen and David Malpass, the U.S. Treasury undersecretary for international affairs ended without any progress.

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods slumped by much more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders tumbled by 1.7 percent in July after climbing by 0.7 percent in June. Economists had expected durable goods orders to drop by 0.5 percent.

The dollar dropped to a 3-week low of $1.1639 against the Euro Friday, but has since bounced back to around $1.1620.

Germany's economy expanded at a faster pace as initially estimated on domestic demand in the second quarter, detailed data from Destatis showed Friday. The largest euro area economy grew 0.5 percent sequentially, following the 0.4 percent increase in the first quarter. The rate came in line with the estimate released on August 14.

The buck fell to a low of $1.2881 against the pound sterling Friday, but has since rebounded to around $1.2845.

UK mortgage approvals declined in July, data from UK Finance showed Friday. The number of mortgages approved in July fell to 39,584 from 40,330 in June. Economists had forecast approvals to rise to 40,650.

The greenback reached an early high of Y111.486 against the Japanese Yen Friday, but has since retreated to around Y111.195.

Consumer prices in Japan were up 0.9 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 1.0 percent but was up from 0.7 percent in June.

Producer prices in Japan were up 1.1 percent on year in July, the Bank of Japan said on Friday. That was unchanged from the June reading following a downward revision from 1.2 percent. It was also beneath forecasts for 1.2 percent.