Investing.com - The dollar turned lower against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after data showed that U.S. unit labor costs rose more than expected in the second quarter, while non-farm productivity came in below forecasts.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that unit labor costs increased by0.5% in the three months to June, above forecasts for a gain of 0.1% and following rise of 2.3% in the first quarter.
The report also said that nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased by 1.3% in the second quarter, missing expectations for a gain of 1.6%. The previous quarter’s figure was revised to a drop of 1.1% from a previously reported fall of 3.1%.
The dollar has strengthened earlier in the day, after China devalued the yuan in an attempt to help exporters after a recent spate of disappointing economic data.
The central bank described it as a “one-off depreciation” of nearly 2%, based on a new way of managing the exchange rate that better reflected market forces.
USD/JPY rose 0.20% to trade at 124.89.
EUR/USD gained 0.37% to 1.1062. The ZEW Centre for Economic Research earlier said that its index of German economic sentiment fell by 4.7 points to a nine-month low of 25.0 this month from July’s reading of 29.7.
Analysts had expected the index to rise by 2.3 points to 32.0 in August.
The index of euro zone economic sentiment rose to 47.6 in August from 42.7 in July, beating forecasts for an increase to 43.9.
Separately, a Greek official said early Tuesday that his government had completed talks with creditors over a deal setting out the terms of a third bailout, with some details remaining.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.5589 and lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.13% at 0.9824.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were still sharply lower, with AUD/USD down 1.20% to one-week lows of 0.7322 and with NZD/USD tumbling 1% to 0.6551.
Earlier Tuesday, the National Australia Bank reported that its business confidence index fell to 4 in July from a reading of 8 in June, whose figure was downwardly revised from a previously estimated reading of 10.
Analysts had expected the index to rise to 11 last month.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD climbed 0.58% to trade at 1.3078.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% at 97.05.