Washington-based ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 76.7 per cent down from 77.4 per cent in May. ELFA's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. The index is based on a survey of 25 members, including Bank of America Corp, CIT Group Inc and the financing affiliates or units of Caterpillar Inc, Dell Technologies Inc, Siemens AG, Canon Inc and Volvo AB. The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, ELFA's non-profit affiliate, reported a monthly confidence index of 72.9 in July, up from 71.3 in June. Meanwhile the US dollar on Friday notched a second week of gains, after a few volatile days when currencies moved with shifting risk appetite, as the market shifted focus to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.