Following 2/1/2021 1:59:51 AM GMT The greenback pared intra-day gains made in Asia and European morning and ended largely mixed on Friday. The single currency rose broadly in European morning after news reported that its unlikely that the European Central Bank will cut its interest rates. The Japanese yen was the weakest currency versus the usd dollar and climbed to a 7-month high of 104.94. Decline in U.S. stocks with the Dow shedding 620 points or down 2.03% at 29,982 dampened risk appetite.
Reuters reported U.S. consumer spending fell for a second straight month in December amid renewed business restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and a temporary expiration of government-funded benefits for millions of unemployed Americans. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, slipped 0.2% last month after dropping 0.7% in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending decreasing 0.4% in December.