NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar gained on Friday after data showed producer prices in the world's largest economy came in higher than expected, affirming expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off the start of its rate-cutting cycle to the middle of he year.
The Labor Department report showed that the producer price index (PPI) gained 0.3% in January, up from forecasts of a 0.1% rise. On a year-on-year basis, the PPI increased 0.9%, compared with expectations of a 0.6% rise.
The greenback gained after the data, with the dollar index rising 0.3% to 104.61 USD . Against the yen, the dollar climbed 0.5% to 150.57 yen JPY=EBS .
