Dollar mixed against major currencies

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against major currencies on Friday due to traders' technical operations after a streak of declining. The greenback dropped against its major peers for the previous five sessions amid growing uncertainties about when the Federal Reserve would start to scale back its monetary easing measures. Several Fed officials have voiced their belief that the U.S. central bank could begin trimming its asset purchases program later this year, though the Fed didn't give a hint of its tapering timetable after a policy meeting last week. The Australian dollar strengthened versus the dollar for a second day on Friday after its largest trading partner, China, posted a string of upbeat economic data, showing signs of stabilization in the world's second largest economy. China's National Bureau of Statistics said Friday that the country's industrial output growth picked up in July, rising 9.7 percent year on year, while its consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, stayed flat at 2.7 percent in July from last year. On the economic front, U.S. wholesale inventories dropped 0.2 percent in June, following a downwardly-revised 0.6-percent decline in May, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday. Meanwhile, wholesale sales in June rose 0.4 percent, it added. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.3340 dollars from 1.3387 dollars of the previous session and the British pound decreased to 1.5513 dollars from 1.5546 dollars. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.9213 dollars from 0.9119 dollars. The dollar bought 96.33 Japanese yen, lower than 96.53 yen of the previous session. It edged up to 0.9225 Swiss francs from 0. 9196 Swiss francs and went down to 1.0277 Canadian dollars from 1. 0317 Canadian dollars.