Dollar stabilizes after plunging overnight on gloomy U.S. data
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The dollar was steady in early Asia trading on Friday after falling overnight as downbeat U.S. data cast a shadow over the economic outlook, while the Japanese yen stabilized after rising against the greenback and the euro the previous day.
The dollar gave up gains made after the Federal Reserve upgraded its 2020 GDP forecast this week to trade in negative territory on Thursday. It was last quoted at 92.866 against a basket of major currencies, and was on track for a 0.3% weekly loss.
A stream of U.S. data showed jobless claims remained elevated at 860,000, while both housing starts and the Philadelphia Fed business index fell. The Fed this week said it expected the U.S. economy to shrink by far less than previously forecast in 2020 and promised to keep rates ultra-low for a prolonged period.