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The U.S. dollar weakened slightly in late trading on Friday after safe-haven currencies such as Japanese yen jumped amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.
The United States killed Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force, in an airstrike in Baghdad on Friday, escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Safe-haven currencies, including the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, climbed following the fatal strike.
On the data front, the U.S. Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its manufacturing index slid to 47.2 percent in December from 48.1 percent in November, marking the lowest reading since June 2009.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.01 percent at 96.8395 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1167 U.S. dollars from 1.1168 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3078 U.S. dollars from 1.3135 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar decreased to 0.6958 U.S. dollar from 0.6983 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 108.01 Japanese yen, lower than 108.55 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.9718 Swiss franc from 0.9722 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.2991 Canadian dollars from 1.2989 Canadian dollars.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
