The dollar index .DXY against a basket of six major currencies rose to 96.394, its highest in almost two weeks. The dollar rose 0.2 percent to 113.40 yen JPY=, keeping intact its steady recovery from its 6 1/2-month low of 110.67 hit on March 17.
The euro was slightly softer at $1.1160 EUR=, not far from Thursday's one-week low of $1.1144.
In the past week, the dollar has been helped by comments from some Fed officials indicating that policymakers think they could raise interest rates as early as next month.
U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter, but not as sharply as previously estimated, with fairly strong consumer spending offsetting the drag from efforts by businesses to reduce an inventory overhang.
Gross domestic product increased at a 1.4 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 1.0 percent pace, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its third GDP estimate.
Relatively strong consumer spending underscores the economy's underlying strength and should further allay fears of a recession, which triggered a massive stock market sell-off early this year. That, together with a tightening labor market and rising inflation likely keeps the Federal Reserve on a path to gradually raise interest rates this year.
"The consumer is back in the driver's seat. There is no sign of recession in these data so this will put a smile on Fed officials' faces and argues for their policy of gradual interest rate normalization to continue," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.
Spending is being supported by rising wages as the jobs markets tightens, as well as firming house prices. Gasoline prices around $2 per gallon are also helping to underpin household discretionary spending.
The head of the World Bank expressed frustration at Lebanon's political paralysis on Friday during a joint visit with the U.N. Secretary-General, warning that good governance now was essential to prevent future conflict.
Hampered by sectarian tensions, Lebanon has not passed a budget since 2005 and has been without a president for almost two years, preventing vital legislation from being passed.
"A country with no clear priorities and no governance is in trouble and they need to move as quickly as possible," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said, urging more decisive policy-making to stop the chaos in Syria, now in its sixth year, spreading into Lebanon.
Reference: Reuters
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