FXpert

The U.S. dollar was modestly higher on Friday morning, steadying after it whipsawed following a report showing import price data weakened for the third straight month in January, the latest sign of weak inflation pressures.

The dollar fell on Thursday after a report that U.S. retail sales recorded the biggest drop in more than nine years in December, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic activity at the end of 2018.

Sterling was stuck near one-month lows on Thursday after Prime Minister Theresa May lost a symbolic Brexit vote in parliament, weakening her hand as she seeks to renegotiate her withdrawal agreement with Brussels.

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Sterling briefly spiked half a percent on Wednesday, propelled by large purchase orders executed in a thin market, while renewed suggestions of a delay to Britain's exit from the European Union also buoyed sentiment on the currency.

The U.S. dollar rose modestly on Wednesday after a measure of inflation excluding energy prices rose, prompting the greenback to reverse the prior day's pullback.

The British currency rose off three-week lows against the dollar on Tuesday as Prime Minister Theresa May said the government would seek to speed up ratification of its Brexit withdrawal deal with the European Union if time gets too tight.

The dollar edged lower against its peers on Wednesday, as rising expectations of a breakthrough in the trade impasse between United States and China led investors to put money into the euro and Asian currencies.

Sterling weakened on Monday after data showed that Britain's economy last year grew at its slowest since 2012, with Brexit uncertainty hitting investment and the slowdown accelerating at the end of 2018.