The US dollar is slumping to close out the trading week as investors attempted to drive up the broader financial markets. Despite its modest loss on Friday, the greenback is poised for a weekly gain, adding to its impressive year-to-date boost in this environment. For now, it is about the data.

The University of Michigan released its Friday reading, with the consumer sentiment index falling to 59.4 in March, down from 62.8 in February. This was also below the market forecast of 59.7.

The institution’s consumer expectations slumped to 54.3, while current economic conditions eased to 67.2.

Consumers anticipate greater inflation in the year head, swelling from 4.9% in the previous estimate to 5.4% in the March total. The five-year inflation expectations remained the same at 3%.

On the housing front, pending home sales tumbled 4.1% month-over-month in February, below the median estimate of 1% growth. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales declined 5.4% last month.

It was a busy week of data, particularly when it came to the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figures. The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 58.5, the composite PMI climbed to 58.5, and the services PMI advanced to 58.9.

For now, the dollar rally took a breather with investors picking up discounts and buying the dip in the leading benchmark indexes. Moreover, the Federal Reserve is now weighing 50-basis-point rate hikes this year as many Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policymakers deliberating in the public forum if the central bank should deliver a half-point jump at the next meeting in May.

Bonds recovered to close out the trading week, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield up 0.132% to 2.473%. The one-year bill rose 0.073% to 1.616%, while the 30-year bond swelled 0.111% to 2.623%.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the greenback against a basket of currencies, tumbled 0.24% to 98.56, from an opening of 98.75. The index is on track for a weekly jump of 0.4%, lifting its 2022 gain to about 2.8%.

The USD/CAD currency pair fell 0.14% to 1.2510, from an opening of 1.2528, at 14:49 GMT on Friday. The EUR/USD rose 0.16% to 1.1015, from an opening of 1.0998.