Dollar eases

TOKYO: The dollar pulled back from an 11-month peak against a basket of major currencies on Friday as investors took profits after the currency´s earlier rally, while sterling rebounded from a seven-month low after a slightly hawkish tilt from the Bank of England surprised the market.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve´s manufacturing index fell sharply to a 1-1/2 year low, raising concern about the world´s largest economy and prompting some traders to book profits on bullish dollar bets, analysts said.

"The weak Philly Fed index reinforced fears that President Trump´s trade war would hurt the U.S. economic outlook and worsened the mood," said Kengo Suzuki, chief forex strategist at Mizuho Securities.

The Philadelphia Fed index on U.S. Mid-Atlantic business activity fell to 19.9 in June from 34.4 in May, its steepest fall since January 2014.Lower yields on U.S. Treasuries and the euro finding chart support in the $1.15 area also contributed to the dollar´s weakness.

Escalation in the U.S.-China trade conflict had underpinned safe-haven support for the dollar in recent days.

The Philly Fed weaker data dragged down U.S. Treasury yields, with the 10-year yield falling to 2.897 percent in North American trade overnight.