2019.01.1816:24:00UTC+00Dollar Stays Firm On Trade Talks Optimism

Optimism about China and the U.S. resolving their trade disputes boosted investor sentiment and lifted the dollar up against most major currencies on Friday.

A stronger than expected industrial production data for December contributed as well to the greenback's rise.

After a report in Wall Street Journal on Thursday said the U.S. is considering lifting tariffs on Chinese goods to give Beijing a reason to make deeper concessions in ongoing trade talks, a report in Bloomberg News today said China has offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from the U.S. It said further that China would seek to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. by increasing annual goods imports by a combined value of more than $1 trillion.

These reports proved strong enough triggers for stock markets to move up north. The dollar too edged higher against major currencies.

The dollar index is up 0.32 points or 0.33%, at 96.39, rising from a low of 96.01.

In U.S. economic news, a report from the University of Michigan showed a substantial deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of January, with the consumer sentiment index declining to 90.7, from the final December reading of 98.3. The index was expected to dip to 97.0.

With the much steeper than expected drop, the consumer sentiment index tumbled to its lowest level since hitting 87.2 in October of 2016.

Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin said: "The loss was due to a host of issues including the partial government shutdown, the impact of tariffs, instabilities in financial markets, the global slowdown, and the lack of clarity about monetary policies."

Meanwhile, a separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production increased by slightly more than expected in December, as jumps in manufacturing and mining output more than offset a sharp pullback in utilities output.

The Fed said industrial production rose by 0.3% in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.4% in November. Economists had expected industrial production to edge up by 0.2% compared to the 0.6% advance originally reported for the previous month.