NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar advanced in late trading on Friday, as traders might have overreacted to the possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve's cut of interest rates.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.58 percent to 102.5523 in late trading.
The excitement surrounding the possibility of the Fed easing its grip on interest rates cooled down a bit after New York Fed President John Williams threw cold water on those hopes. He stressed that their priority remains bringing inflation under control and reaching the 2 percent target before even considering lowering rates.
The economic activity in the U.S. private sector continued to expand at a modest pace in early December, with the S&P Global's U.S. composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) edging slightly higher to 51.0 from 50.7 in November. The manufacturing PMI remained in the contraction territory, declining to 48.2 from 49.4, while the services PMI improved to 51.3 from 50.8, according to S&P Global on Friday.
"The early PMI data indicate that the U.S. economy picked up a little momentum in December, closing off the year with the fastest growth recorded since July," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "Despite the December upturn, the survey therefore signals only weak GDP growth in the fourth quarter."
While in the eurozone, HCOB's preliminary composite PMI, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 47.0 this month from November's 47.6, confounding expectations in a Reuters poll for an uptick to 48.0 and marking its seventh month below the 50 level separating growth from contraction. "The drop-back in the eurozone composite PMI in December provides more evidence that the economy is in recession," said Andrew Kenningham at Capital Economics.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0899 U.S. dollars from 1.0991 U.S. dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.2690 U.S. dollars from 1.2755 U.S. dollars in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar bought 142.1810 Japanese yen, higher than 141.9480 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.8699 Swiss francs from 0.8662 Swiss francs, and it decreased to 1.3369 Canadian dollars from 1.3409 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was up to 10.2656 Swedish kronor from 10.2349 Swedish kronor.
