US confidence report sends dollar higher

AP FILE PHOTO

NEW YORK — The dollar got a boost Friday from news that US consumers were a little more upbeat than last month, lifting the greenback 0.3 percent against the euro.

The University of Michigan Consumer Confidence index for August came in slightly higher than the previous month, at 73.6, still well below pre-recession levels.

But consumers’ expectations of future conditions worsened, the sub-index falling to 64.3 from 65.6.

“Clearly consumers feel times aren’t as bad as they were just a month ago, but looking into the future there remains a considerable amount of uncertainty and downside risks that could undermine the recovery,” said Lindsey Piegza of FTN Financial.

The euro slipped to $1.2325 from $1.2355 late on Thursday in New York.

The pound was also down 0.3 percent to $1.5684.

Meanwhile the dollar rose 0.3 percent to 79.54 yen and was virtually unchanged at 0.9745 Swiss francs.