Investing.com - The dollar rose to more than one-week highs against the yen on Tuesday, as gains in global equities markets bolstered investor sentiment, but the prospect of monetary easing by the European Central Bank continued to weigh on the euro.
USD/JPY hit highs of 102.36, the most since May 2 and was last up 0.18% to 102.31.
Demand for the safe haven yen was hit after Japan’s Nikkei posted sharp gains on Tuesday after the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 closed at record highs on Monday, as indications that the U.S. economy is improving and strong earnings results fuelled a stock market rally.
The dollar shrugged off data showed that industrial production and retail sales in China slowed slightly in April, adding to concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
The U.S. was to release data on retail sales later in the trading day.
The euro inched higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD at 1.3766, not far from the one-month low of 1.3744 struck on Friday.
The euro’s gains were held in check after the ECB indicated last week that it could begin to ease monetary policy as soon as its next meeting in June, to combat persistently low inflation in the euro zone.
Investors were looking ahead to the German ZEW index of economic sentiment later in the session for indications on investor sentiment in the euro zone’s largest economy.
The pound slid lower against the dollar, with GBP/USD sliding 0.13% to 1.6844, holding below last week’s peaks of 1.6993. Demand for sterling continued to be underpinned by expectations for a U.K. rate hike in the early part of next year.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF edged down to 0.8869.
The Australian was lower following the disappointing data from China, with AUD/USD losing 0.26% to trade at 0.9337, while NZD/USD was up 0.12% to 0.8630. USD/CAD climbed 0.22% to 1.0918.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was almost unchanged at 79.94