At a press conference on Thursday, ECB President Christine Lagarde said the bank is not targeting exchange rates. She also struck a less dovish tone on the euro zone economy, as the ECB lifted its growth forecast for 2020.

After Lagarde's briefing, sources said policymakers had agreed to look through the euro's rise, judging it was broadly in line with economic fundamentals.

On Friday, however, ECB policymakers, including chief economist Philip Lane, warned against complacency over low inflation and highlighted risks from a strong euro, nuancing the bank's benign message from a day earlier.

Since around mid-June, the euro has risen more than 6% versus the dollar.

"There is a feeling here that it's okay for the euro to be around $1.1750-$1.1850. If it hits $1.1950, it probably starts swinging down," said Juan Perez, currency trader at Tempus Inc in Washington.

"Overall, ECB policymakers seem to be saying that let's not overreact about the euro exchange rate," he added.

In afternoon trading, the euro rose 0.2% to $1.1831 , but posted a second straight week of losses. It did reach a one-week high of $1.1917 on Thursday.

The dollar index <=USD>, which tracks the greenback against other major currencies, was flat to slightly lower at 93.320. The index though showed a second week of gains.

The dollar was little changed against the yen at 106.10 yen .

Friday's data showing a rise in U.S. consumer prices last month had little impact on the dollar. U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% last month, after gains of 0.6% in June and July.

Overall, some analysts believe the dollar has scope for further gains as a safe haven amid still heightened uncertainty related to the COVID vaccine and the global recovery from the virus-induced downturn.

"We are concerned that the consensus may be too optimistic on the global economy; too optimistic on a vaccine; too pessimistic on the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. compared with that in Europe; and complacent on the U.S. elections," said BofA Securities in a research note.

Elsewhere, the pound slipped 0.1% against the dollar to $1.2794 , and sank to a fresh 5-1/2-month low of 92.90 pence versus the euro , adding more losses after the heaviest sell-offs seen this year sent the pound falling nearly 2% against the euro on Thursday.

As the Brexit saga intensifies, sterling posted its worst weekly performance versus the dollar since mid-March when forex markets were going through a coronavirus-induced turmoil.

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Currency bid prices at 2:59PM (1859 GMT)

Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session

Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1830 $1.1813 +0.14% +5.53% +1.1874 +1.1814

Dollar/Yen JPY= 106.1000 106.1300 -0.03% -2.54% +106.2600 +106.0700

Euro/Yen EURJPY= 125.55 125.37 +0.14% +2.94% +126.1200 +125.3900

Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9094 0.9104 -0.11% -6.03% +0.9108 +0.9080

Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2790 1.2803 -0.10% -3.54% +1.2864 +1.2765

Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3189 1.3190 -0.01% +1.56% +1.3207 +1.3151

Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7275 0.7256 +0.26% +3.58% +0.7305 +0.7252

ar

Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0759 1.0758 +0.01% -0.86% +1.0788 +1.0754

Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9247 0.9225 +0.24% +9.39% +0.9291 +0.9211

NZ NZD= 0.6659 0.6649 +0.15% -1.16% +0.6694 +0.6642

Dollar/Dollar

Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.0506 9.0729 -0.25% +3.10% +9.0768 +9.0035

Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.7112 10.7200 -0.08% +8.86% +10.7335 +10.6684

Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.7810 8.7598 +0.29% -6.05% +8.8003 +8.7302

Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.3907 10.3609 +0.29% -0.75% +10.4125 +10.3559

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Stephen Orlofsky and Marguerita Choy)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss