FOREX-Dollar stays near 3-week high after retail sales boost - NewsBreak

* Strong retail sales data lifts mood on U.S. economy * Swiss franc, precious metals under pressure * Chinese yuan off highs amid concerns over Evergrande By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The dollar held near three-week highs against a basket of major currencies on Friday after a raft of strong U.S. economic data rekindled expectations of an earlier policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve. U.S. retail sales unexpectedly increased in August, rising 0.7% from the previous month despite expectations of a 0.8% fall, while a business sentiment survey by the Philadelphia Fed also showed a big improvement. "Yesterday's data were pretty strong across the board," said Yujiro Goto, chief currency strategist at Nomura Securities. "The markets had been worried that consumption would be weak in August because of the Delta variant. But retail sales were surprisingly strong." The figures helped to curb cautious views on the U.S. economy after a tame consumer inflation reading and sof