19.07.201917:14:00UTC+00Dollar Rebounds After Recent Losses

The U.S. dollar rebounded on Friday, recovering from losses in the previous two sessions, and gained ground against other major currencies.

The dollar lost ground on Thursday, extending losses from a session earlier, as rate cut hopes increased after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Fed would cut rate in the upcoming monetary policy meeting. He said the bank will have to act quickly and forcefully as economic growth was slowing.

But the greenback rebounded today after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York came out with statements defending Mr. Williams' dovish appearance.

New York Fed President John Williams' assertion that policymakers need to "act quickly" as economic growth slows was drawing from research, not hinting at what may happen at this month's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, a spokesperson for the central bank said.

"This was an academic speech on 20 years of research. It was not about potential policy actions at the upcoming FOMC meeting," a spokesperson for the New York Federal Reserve said in a statement.

The dollar index advanced to a high of 97.29 by mid afternoon, and subsequently dropped to 97.15, still very much in positive zone with a gain of 0.37%.

Against the euro, the dollar strengthened to 1.1205, before paring some gains as it dropped to 1.1220, still up more than 0.5% from previous close.

Against pound sterling, the dollar rose to 1.2477 before easing to 1.2498, still holding in positive territory, higher by 0.4%.

The Japanese yen weakened to 10.7.97 against the greenback before regaining some lost ground. Still, at 107.73 yen a dollar, the currency was down 0.4% from late Thursday.

The Aussie shed nearly 0.5% against the dollar at 0.7041. The dollar was up notably against the loonie as well, with the USD-CAD pair at 1.3054. Against Swiss franc, the dollar was up marginally at 0.9818.

In economic news today, a preliminary report from the University of Michigan showed a slight improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of July.

The report showed the consumer sentiment index inched up to 98.4 in July from the final June reading of 98.2. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 98.5.

The uptick by the headline index came as the index of consumer expectations crept up to 90.1 in July from 89.3 in June.

On the other hand, the report said the current economic conditions index dipped to 111.1 in July from 111.9 in June.