American focus: Dollar rises along with Greek-default fears

The U.S. dollar inched higher against its main rivals Friday, snapping three sessions of losses, as fears of a Greek default drove the dollar higher.

The Labor Department said Friday that core consumer prices rose 0.2% in March on the back of higher gas prices, matching expectations of economists polled by MarketWatch. Core prices increased by the same amount in February.

Aside from Friday's gauge of consumer-price inflation, U.S. economic data released since Monday has been weak, weighing on the dollar and suggesting that the Fed will wait longer before raising interest rates.

Greece's Kathimerini newspaper reported Friday that central banks of Southeastern European countries have told subsidiaries of Greek lenders operating in their countries to exit all exposure to Greek sovereign debt, which the market interpreted as a sign that a Greek default is imminent.

Sebastien Galy, director of FX strategy at Société Générale, said that Greek default fears were driving investors into the dollar.

Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar rallied against its U.S. counterpart after retail sales for February and the March consumer-price index came in above economists' expectations.