The dollar found haven support on Friday as oil prices rose and equities slipped ahead of the weekend, with escalating US-Iran tensions and deteriorating consumer sentiment weighing on risk appetite.
President Donald Trump said the US could quickly end Iran war, but questioned whether to pursue a rapid resolution or let the conflict ease gradually.
Iran has prepared plans to target Gulf undersea communications cables if the US and Israel launch new attacks, Reuters reported.
In data, S&P Global's flash PMI showed US business activity cooled in October and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index edged down to near a record low.
The WSJ reported that the US expected to lift 50% tariffs on some Canadian agriculture and forestry products to aid northern-state Republicans ahead of the midterms.
The dollar index rose above its 5-DMA in moderate FX turnover, but remained capped below the 101.89 21-DMA that has limited gains throughout the week.
EUR/USD gave up an early rally and slipped below 1.12 as higher Treasury yields and oil prices reinforced bearish momentum, with the pair remaining bearish while below the 10- and 21-DMAs.
GBP/USD slipped ahead of the UK budget and FOMC next week, but stays constructive above 1.3355 support, with resistance near its 1.3413 55-DMA and 1.3433.
USD/JPY steadied below its 156.90 lower Bollinger after rebounding from 156.08, retaining a mildly bearish bias in the middle of a 156.06-158.44 daily cloud ahead of next week's central bank meetings.
AUD/USD rose above its 100-DMA at 0.7032, supported by CNH strength despite firmer US yields and the dollar, keeping the near-term bias bullish while above 0.7005.
Treasury yields rose 3 to 4 basis points, leaving the 2s-10s curve steady at 30.9bp.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.43% amid weakness in consumer shares.
WTI oil rose about 4%, filling an outstanding price gap near $101/bbl.
Gold fell 0.75% while copper gained 1.6%.
Heading toward the close: EUR/USD -0.19%, USD/JPY +0.05%, GBP/USD -0.22%, AUD/USD +0.24%, DXY +0.19%, EUR/JPY -0.11%, GBP/JPY -0.15%, AUD/JPY +0.31%.(Editing by Burton Frierson Robert Fullem is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
