Dollar mixed amid Fed tapering speculations

The US dollar traded mixed against major currencies Friday amid speculations over the timing of the Federal Reserve's decision to taper the bond purchases. Market analysts generally believe the Fed will start to taper the quantitative easing program no later than March 2014, but they are weighing related factors to figure out whether the Fed would move after its December's policy meeting scheduled to take place on Dec. 17-18 or in March. U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell for a third consecutive month in November. A lack of inflationary pressure could give the Fed pause as it mulls the future of its monthly asset purchases. In the previous session, the U.S. dollar advanced against major currencies after the Commerce Department said U.S. retail and food services sales for November advanced 0.7 percent. The figure followed a 0.6-percent increase in the prior month, a sign of strengthening economic growth and supported the speculations over the Fed's tapering in March. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar versus the six major currencies, inched up 0.1 percent to 80.28. On the week, the euro gained 0.2 percent, its best weekly gain since mid-November. The U.S. dollar edged up just 0.2 percent against the yen, the best weekly performance since early November. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.3734 dollars from 1.3746 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.6295 dollars from 1.6347 dollars. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.8964 U.S. dollar from 0.8936 U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar bought 103.22 Japanese yen, lower than 103.26 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar moved up to 0.8901 Swiss franc from 0.8895 Swiss franc and went down to 1.0592 Canadian dollars from 1.0639 Canadian dollars.