The dollar rose against its competitors Thursday as largely bullish financial statistics reaffirmed investor expectations that the U.S. economy stays on solid foundation, even though a slump in the pound also lifted sentiment. The, which steps the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, climbed by 0.26percent to 96.91. A deluge of financial data including retail sales which topped economist estimates paved the way for the greenback to add to gains, keeping it on course to record a fifth-straight weekly gain…………..