NEW YORK, Aug 12: The dollar got a lift on Friday from a sharp rebound in US retail sales which raised the possibility of US interest rates moving slightly higher. The dollar stood at 116.26 yen, from 115.27 yen.

The robust retail sales report was the final blow in what has proved to be an ill-fated week for dollar bears, not the least of which was yesterday's (Thursday's) terrorist attempt in London, said Michael Woolfolk at Bank of New York.

Earlier in the week, a run of 17 consecutive rate hikes in the United States came to a halt when the Federal Open Market Committee kept the benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent. The Federal Reserve said, however, that the outlook for rates would depend on upcoming data.

Friday's US retail sales report implied that consumer spending was holding up well.

Retail sales rose by 1.4 per cent in July, beating predictions of a 0.8 percent increase and rebounding from a drop in June. The latest figure was also the highest since January.

The figure for June was revised, however, to show a steeper fall of 0.4 per cent compared with an initial estimate of 0.1 per cent.—AFP