LONDON, Sept 13: Major currencies were locked in narrow ranges on Friday with the dollar holding steady ahead of the release of another batch of key US economic statistics.

The single European currency stood at $0.9810 against 0.9818 late on Thursday in New York.

The dollar was being traded at 119.97 yen from 120.02 on Thursday.

The steadier performance by the dollar followed steep losses a day earlier when the US unit was undermined by a sharp slide on Wall Street and the downbeat assessment of the US economy made by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.

Commerzbank currency strategist Kamal Sharma said with the dollar still vulnerable to any signs of weakness in the US economy, the market would be focusing on US retail sales and University of Michigan consumer confidence data due later Friday.

According to analysts, retail sales were expected to have risen 0.5 percent on the month in August following a 1.2 per cent gain the previous month with ex-auto sales seen up 0.2 per cent after a similar gain in July.

ABN Amro currency economist Rob Hayward said with the current expansion of the US economy dependent on household spending, the data would provide a crucial insight into the current state of the US consumer.

Given market sensitivity to the health of the US consumer and the general belief that the data will not show any evidence of weaker spending, the risks (for the dollar) appear to lie on the side of disappointment, Hayward said.

That was a view echoed by Sharma, who added that the respite afforded the dollar by last week’s US employment report was likely to be short lived.

We think the markets will come to realise... that the last US unemployment figures were a sham. The September payroll report could be a horror, Sharma said.

The yen was steady after US President George W. Bush told Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Thursday that he supports his economic reform plans but reportedly pressed him to speed up progress on dealing with the issue of non-performing loans.

While there is plenty of uncertainty about the US outlook, one thing we are certain of is that Japan is in worse shape, said HBOS economist Steve Pearson.

Unfortunately this does not necessarily mean the yen will fall — the current account surplus is a powerful support, Pearson added.

The euro was changing hands at $0.9810 against 0.9818 late on Thursday in New York, 117.65 yen from 117.84, 0.6292 pounds (0.6286) and 1.4681 Swiss francs (1.4689).

The dollar was being quoted at 119.97 yen (120.02) and 1.4965 Swiss francs (1.4961).

The pound was at 1.5591 dollars (1.5611), 187.11 yen (187.39) and 2.3330 Swiss francs (2.3350).

On the London bullion market, the price of an ounce of gold rose to 318.85 dollars from 315.50 late on Thursday. —AFP