Dollar Rises; Pound Sells Off after Scotland Vote

The dollar advanced Friday against other major currencies, while the British pound retreated despite Scotland's vote against breaking from the United Kingdom.

The greenback hit a 14-month high against the euro, as "the coast was clearer for markets to focus on U.S. optimism and expectations for Fed rate hikes in 2015" following the Scottish vote, said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.

The dollar has rallied against the euro, the yen and others on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is closer to tightening policy than other central banks.

But David Rodriguez, quantitative strategist at DailyFX, said trading data suggest euro selling and dollar buying "has slowed significantly," signalling a possible shift was imminent.

The British pound, meanwhile, retreated against the dollar despite Scots voting 55 percent against a referendum to exit the centuries-old United Kingdom.

Analysts attributed the pound's drop to profit-taking following a surge Thursday.

"Sterling encountered profit-taking on its rise as the vote outcome largely met expectations while others expected political uncertainty to linger since London promised more constitutional powers to Scotland in exchange for keeping the UK intact," said Manimbo.

2100 GMT Friday Thursday

EUR/USD 1.2832 1.2917

EUR/JPY 139.84 140.50

EUR/CHF 1.2072 1.2068

EUR/GBP 0.7876 0.7888

USD/JPY 108.99 108.77

USD/CHF 0.9407 0.9343

GBP/USD 1.6289 1.6374