By Anneken Tappe, MarketWatch

The U.S. dollar strengthened across the board as investors remained optimistic about U.S.-China trade talks, putting the greenback on track to finish the week in the green for the first time since mid-December.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index , which measures the greenback against six rivals, rose 0.3% to 96.330, putting it on track for a 0.7% gain on the week -- its first positive weekly performance since the Dec. 14, according to FactSet.

China offered a path to eliminate its trade imbalance (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-has-offered-to-ramp-up-us-import-purchases-to-1-trillion-per-year-report-2019-01-18) with the U.S. by ramping up imports over the next six years to reach more than $1 trillion annually, according to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-18/china-offers-path-to-eliminate-us-trade-imbalance-sources).

This followed a report by The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-weighs-lifting-china-tariffs-to-hasten-trade-deal-calm-markets-11547754006?mod=hp_lead_pos1) from late Thursday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested to ease tariffs on China to support markets. Though denied by a Treasury spokesman, the report has helped drive investors into assets perceived as risk and away from so-called havens. U.S. stocks also were set to trade higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-extend-gains-as-investors-cling-to-hope-of-trade-resolution-2019-01-18).

All this comes ahead of Chinese economic growth data for the fourth quarter over the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in the U.S., with stocks and bonds in the U.S. set to be closed on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-stock-markets-and-bond-are-closed-for-martin-luther-king-jr-day-2019-01-18).

Read:Why China's latest stimulus effort is simultaneously calming and unsettling investors (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-chinas-latest-stimulus-effort-is-simultaneously-calming-and-unsettling-investors-2019-01-16)

In U.S. economic data, reports on industrial production and capacity utilization (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-industrial-output-up-03-in-december-manufacturing-surges-2019-01-18) in December were in line with expectations, while consumer sentiment plunged (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-in-january-plunges-to-lowest-level-since-trump-elected-2019-01-18) to its lowest level since President Donald Trump was elected in January amid the continuous partial government shutdown.

Among dollar rivals, majors like the haven Japanese yen and the euro weakened. One dollar last bought Yen109.67, up from Yen109.25 late Thursday in New York, while the euro fetched $1.1369, compared with $1.1392 late Thursday.

Over the course of the week, the greenback rose 1.1% against the yen, which is considered a risk bellwether.

Earlier Friday, Japan reported consumer-price inflation data for December, which rose 0.3% year over year, in line with expectations, but down from 0.8% in December. Core inflation rose 0.1% year over year.

Don't miss:Brazil is making a play as the emerging market destination of choice in 2019 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brazil-is-making-a-play-as-the-emerging-market-destination-of-choice-in-2019-2019-01-18)

Also:Why the South African rand and Colombian peso appear most at risk for selloffs in 2019 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-the-south-african-rand-and-colombian-peso-appear-most-at-risk-for-selloffs-in-2019-2019-01-17)

The British pound retraced its no-Brexit-news-is-good-news rally (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-sterling-rallied-to-a-roughly-2-month-high-with-no-fresh-brexit-developments-2019-01-17) from Thursday and slipped to $1.2876 versus $1.2986. U.K. retail sales for December fell by 0.9% on the month, more than expected. On the year, retail sales growth slowed to 3% from 3.4% in November.

December "was the third negative month out of the past four, indicating that Brexit uncertainty is starting to seep into consumer spending even as labor demand holds up," wrote Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management.

"Next month, U.K. economic data could have deeper implications for the Brexit demand if it continues to miss forecasts. A sharp decline in economic performance is likely to put even greater pressure on U.K. politicians to delay the exit [from the European Union] and work on a compromise deal or run a second referendum," Schlossberg said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2019 14:55 ET (19:55 GMT)