The euro is falling after statements from the European Central

The euro fell on Friday after officials from the European Central Bank made mixed statements, while the dollar was supported by expectations of a 50 basis point interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde gave some indication of easing by saying that the bank may need to lower its growth forecast.

This came after ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos, known for his easing tendencies, joined a growing number of European Central Bank policy makers in calling for an early end to the asset purchase program along with an interest rate hike in July.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed that a half-point rate increase “will be on the table” when the US central bank meets on May 3-4.

The euro against the dollar fell 0.2 percent to $1.0812.

The dollar index rose 0.3 percent to 100.85.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell by 0.8 percent each to $0.7308 and $0.6679, respectively.

The Norwegian krone fell 0.2 percent to 8.928 per dollar.

The offshore Chinese yuan fell 0.4 percent to 6.502 yuan per dollar in London, and it appears that it is heading to record its worst weekly performance in more than two and a half years.

The Japanese yen rose 0.2 percent against the dollar to 127.88, but is still not far from its lowest level since April 2002 at 129.43, which it reached on Wednesday, as the central bank stuck to its ultra-accommodative monetary policy.