Investing.com - The dollar extended gains against the other majors currencies on Tuesday, helped by the release of upbeat U.S. housing sector data and as sustained optimism over the outlook for the economy continued to support.
EUR/USD slid 0.38% to 1.0591, close to Friday’s 11-month trough of 1.0579.
The U.S. National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose 2.0% in October to 5.60 million units from the 5.49 million units in the previous month. August’s data was revised from an initial reading of 5.47 million units.
The consensus forecast was for a 0.5% drop to 5.43 million units.
The greenback has remained supported amid expectations that President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to ramp up fiscal spending and cut taxes will spur economic growth and inflation.
Faster growth would spark inflation, which in turn would prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy a faster rate than had previously been expected.
The U.S. dollar has also been boosted by bets that the U.S. central bank will almost certainly raise interest rates next month.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday reiterated that a rate hike “could well become appropriate relatively soon.”
Elsewhere, GBP/USD declined 0.61% to 1.2416.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics earlier reported that public sector net borrowing increased by £4.30 billion in October, compared to expectations for a £5.90 billion rise.
Public sector net borrowing climbed £9.24 billion in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated £10.12 billion increase.
USD/JPY gained 0.36% to 111.25, after hitting a six-month high of 111.40 on Monday, while USD/CHF rose 0.37% to 1.01269.
The Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD up 0.16% at 0.7381, while NZD/USD dropped 0.40% to 0.7037.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3425.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.37% at 101.31, just off Friday’s 14-year peak of 101.54.