By William L. Watts, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar was higher versus major rivals other than the Japanese yen Friday, boosted as investors demonstrated a loss of appetite for riskier assets in the wake of disappointing economic data and a lackluster start to the U.S. earnings season. The euro was the big loser versus the dollar and other major currencies, slipping as worries remained about Greece's fiscal situation. The euro also saw pressure from unsubstantiated rumors that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was preparing to resign. Merkel subsequently said talk of resignation was "absurd." Earlier, a government spokesman said the rumors were "utterly unfounded." The dollar index (DXY 77.19, +0.45, +0.59%) , which gauges the performance of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, stood at 77.159, up from 76.762 in North American trading late Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.4379, down from $1.4498 late Thursday. The European single currency fell 0.8% against the Japanese unit to change hands at 130.79 yen and was off 0.6% against the British pound at 88.15 pence. The British pound fell 0.1% against the U.S. dollar to $1.6316. Investors reacted skeptically to the Greek government's budget plan, which aims to cut its deficit from 12.7% of gross domestic product last year to below the European Union's 3% cap by 2012. Worries about Greece's financial woes and the risk of contagion and increased tensions within the single currency region have served to put moderate pressure on the euro since December. Read about the reaction to Greece's budget plan. Kenneth Broux, market economist at Lloyds TSB, said concerns about Greece continue to cloud the outlook for the euro. At the same time, expectations for rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve have been tamped down. As a result, that's keeping the euro/U.S. dollar cross largely in balance, he said. The euro could slip toward $1.4280, but it's difficult to see a breakout either way in the near term, Broux said. U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street, while European shares were mostly lower. Read Indications. See Europe Markets. Friday offers a crowded calendar of U.S. economic releases. December consumer prices and industrial production and January Empire State index and consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan are all slated for release. The CPI and Empire State data are due at 8:30 a.m., the industrial production figures come at 9:15 a.m. and the Michigan sentiment data is due at 10 a.m., all Eastern time. The dollar slipped against its Japanese counterpart, buying 90.86 yen, down from 91.20 Japanese yen Thursday.

Source