Investing.com - The dollar erased losses against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as data showing that U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected last month boosted over shadowed the previous session’s disappointing housing sector reports.
USD/JPY was little changed at 109.24.
The U.S. National Association of Retailers said that existing home sales rose 5.1% in March to 5.33 million units from the 5.07 million units in the revised data for February. The consensus forecast was for a 3.5% increase to 5.30 million units.
The report came a day after data showed that U.S. building permits fell unexpectedly by 7.7% in March to 1.086 million units, while housing starts declined by 8.8% to 1.089 million units.
But markets were still jittery as oil prices moved lower after a three-day oil worker strike in Kuwait, which had cut the country’s crude production nearly in half, ended late Tuesday.
EUR/USD slipped 0.26% to trade at 1.1331, after rising to 1.1387 earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.4388 and moved higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF gaining 0.37% to 0.9653.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday that the unemployment rate held at 5.1% in the three months to February, in line with expectations.
However, the claimant count unexpectedly rose by 6,700 in February, compared to expectations for a decrease of 11,300 people, and following a drop of 9.300 a month earlier. It was the first claimant count rise since August 2015.
The average earnings index, including bonuses, rose by 1.8% in the three months to February, below forecasts for a 2.3% increase. Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.2%, in line with forecasts.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars turned lower, with AUD/USD down 0.14% at 0.7801 and with NZD/USD retreating 0.78% to 0.6990.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD held steady at 1.2678, not far from the previous session’s nine-month low of 1.2631.
The loonie weakened briefly after data showed that Canadian wholesale sales dropped by 2.2% in February, compared to expectations for a 0.3% downtick, after a 0.2% rise in January.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.20% at 94.26, off session lows of 93.90.