The U.S. dollar edged lower against a basket of major currencies on Friday after traders were reluctant to buy the greenback ahead of U.S. jobs data next week, and after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Yellen said the Fed is giving “serious consideration” to beginning to reduce its accommodative monetary policy and a rate hike may be warranted later this year, although a downturn in core inflation or wage growth could force it to hold off.
Analysts said the emphasis on considering rate hikes was slightly hawkish and led the dollar to pare some earlier losses, but that the remarks overall reiterated the message from the Fed’s March 18 policy statement: that the timeline of the Fed’s rate hikes would hinge on U.S. economic data.
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