Investing.com - The dollar edged lower against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as lower expectations for an upcoming U.S. rate hike weighed on the greenback and as investors eyed the release of U.S. non-manufacturing activity data due later in the day.
EUR/USD added 0.13% to at 1.1163.
The greenback remained under pressure after downbeat U.S. employment data published last Friday crushed expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve this month.
Earlier Tuesday, data showed that German factory orders rose 0.2% in July, confounding expectations for a 0.5% increase. Factory orders ticked down 0.3% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 0.4% fall.
Market participants were looking ahead to the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday, amid speculation over potential stimulus measures.
GBP/USD rose 0.20% to 1.3332, close to the previous session’s one-and-a-half month high of 1.3379.
USD/JPY slipped 0.10% to 103.33, while USD/CHF was little changed at 0.9801.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.76% at 0.7639 and with NZD/USD climbing 0.55% to 0.7344.
In a widely expected moved, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its benchmark interest rate at 1.50% at the conclusion of its policy meeting.
The central bank gave no indications on future interest rate decisions.
Earlier Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the current account deficit widened to A$15.5 billion in the second quarter from A$14.9 billion in the first quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of A$20.8 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account deficit to hit A$19.8 billion in the last quarter.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD fell 0.24% to 1.2898, the lowest since August 26.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.10% at 95.64.