The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies in late New York trading on Friday as hopes grew for a bailout deal for Greece and mixed economic data also affected the greenback.
Germany backed down over the Greece bailout plan as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday a new aid program is needed for Greece and the participation of the private sector in it should be voluntary.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou replaced his finance minister in an effort to pass austerity measures that are needed to avoid a debt default, which also supported the euro.
The dollar was under pressure after the International Monetary Fund on Friday cut its forecast of U.S. economic growth to 2.5 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2012, from 2.8 percent and 2. 9 percent, respectively.
Economic data also weighed on the dollar. The Thomson Reuters/ University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to a preliminary reading of 71.8 for June, well below expectations.
The dollar index dipped 0.86 percent to 75.07 on Friday.
In late Friday trading, the dollar bought 80.06 yen, comparing with 80.78 late Thursday, and the euro rose to 1.4315 dollars from 1.4141.
The British pound also rose to 1.6178 dollars from 1.6105. The dollar fell from 0.8504 Swiss francs to 0.8482, and also fell to 0. 9805 Canadian dollars from 0.9866.
