Investing.com - The dollar gained ground against the euro on Tuesday amid reports that the European Central Bank is looking at widening its bond purchasing scheme to include corporate debt, while slowing growth in China supported demand for the safe haven yen.
EUR/USD was down 0.27% to 1.2765, having retreated from session highs of 1.2840.
The drop in the euro came after Reuters reported that the ECB is examining plans to purchase bonds issued by companies, or corporate debt, to help shore up growth and boost slowing inflation in the euro area.
The report said the bank could activate the new stimulus plan as soon as December and start bond purchases by early next year.
The ECB began purchasing covered bonds on Monday in a bid to increase liquidity in the region.
The euro gained ground against the dollar earlier in the session after third quarter growth data from China added to concerns over the outlook for the global economy.
China’s economy grew at an annual rate of 7.3% in the three months to September, slightly higher than the 7.2% forecast by economists, but slowing from 7.5% in the second quarter.
It was the slowest rate of growth since the first quarter of 2009, in the midst of the global financial crisis.
The lackluster data added to concerns that weaker global growth could act as a drag on the U.S. economy, dampening dollar demand.
USD/JPY was down 0.20% to 106.74 after falling to lows of 106.26 earlier in the session.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.6158 and moved higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF adding 0.29% to trade at 0.9454.
The commodity linked dollars were broadly higher, with AUD/USD up 0.38% to 0.8817, NZD/USD rising 0.35% to 0.7994 while USD/CAD slid 0.32% to 1.1248.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.20% to 85.21, off lows of 84.80.