Investing.com - The dollar rose to one-and-a-half month highs against the yen on Tuesday as investor demand for riskier assets was boosted as the prospects for a U.S. military strike against Syria faded.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar rose to the highest since July 25 against the yen, with USD/JPY advancing 0.80% to 100.37.
Market sentiment was bolstered after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday that his government agreed to a Russian proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he would put plans for a military strike against Syria on hold if the country agreed to relinquish control of its chemical weapons.
Investor confidence was also boosted after reports on industrial production and retail sales from China added to signs that the world’s second largest economy is recovering from a slowdown.
Data released on Tuesday showed that Chinese retail sales rose unexpectedly in August, while Chinese industrial production rose more than forecast last month.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady close to eight day highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD edging up 0.05% to 1.3261.
In the euro zone, data on Tuesday showed that the recession in Italy is deeper than had been previously thought.
The economy contracted by 0.3% in the second quarter, worse than the initial estimate of a 0.2% contraction, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 2.1% from the initial estimate for a 2% contraction.
The pound rose to three-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.16% to 1.5719.
The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.27% to 0.9349.
Elsewhere, the greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD climbing 0.77% to 0.9298, NZD/USD gaining 0.50% to 0.8056 and USD/CAD down 0.24% to 1.0350.
In Canada, a report showed that housing starts declined slightly more than expected in August, to 180,300 units in August from 193,000 units in July. Economists had forecast a decline to 190,000 units.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05% to 81.86.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar rose to the highest since July 25 against the yen, with USD/JPY advancing 0.80% to 100.37.
Market sentiment was bolstered after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday that his government agreed to a Russian proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he would put plans for a military strike against Syria on hold if the country agreed to relinquish control of its chemical weapons.
Investor confidence was also boosted after reports on industrial production and retail sales from China added to signs that the world’s second largest economy is recovering from a slowdown.
Data released on Tuesday showed that Chinese retail sales rose unexpectedly in August, while Chinese industrial production rose more than forecast last month.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady close to eight day highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD edging up 0.05% to 1.3261.
In the euro zone, data on Tuesday showed that the recession in Italy is deeper than had been previously thought.
The economy contracted by 0.3% in the second quarter, worse than the initial estimate of a 0.2% contraction, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 2.1% from the initial estimate for a 2% contraction.
The pound rose to three-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.16% to 1.5719.
The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.27% to 0.9349.
Elsewhere, the greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD climbing 0.77% to 0.9298, NZD/USD gaining 0.50% to 0.8056 and USD/CAD down 0.24% to 1.0350.
In Canada, a report showed that housing starts declined slightly more than expected in August, to 180,300 units in August from 193,000 units in July. Economists had forecast a decline to 190,000 units.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05% to 81.86.