Dollar rises against major currencies

The dollar rose against most major currencies on Friday as investors seek safety at the end of a volatile month in financial markets.

High-yielding currencies such as the euro and the pound rose in previous sessions as risk appetite grew in foreign exchange trading. They fell back on Friday as new signals of a global recession boosted risk aversion activities.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported consumer spending dropped a sharp 0.3 percent in September after two months in which spending was essentially flat.

A survey released Friday by the University of Michigan and Reuters showed U.S. consumer confidence in October plunged to 57.6from 70.3 in September, the largest one-month drop ever.

Consumer confidence in Britain fell close its lowest record in October, according to a survey released on Friday. The Bank of England is widely expected to cut its key rate by 50 to 100 basis points next week to stimulate the economy hurt by financial crisis.

The Bank of Japan cut the un-collateralized overnight call rate from 0.50 percent to 0.30 percent on Friday. It was the first ratecut from the Japanese central bank in seven years. The bank also slashed its domestic economic growth forecast.

The euro bought 1.2759 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.2967 dollars it bought late Thursday. The pound fell to 1.6143 dollars from 1.6444 dollars.

The dollar rose to 1.1552 Swiss francs from 1.1376 Swiss francs, and rose to 98.70 Japanese yen from 98.48 Japanese yen. It fell to 1.2026 Canadian dollars from 1.2133 Canadian dollars.