Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after the release of weak U.S. economic reports as investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.56% to 120.40.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence fell to 97.6 this month from a reading of 102.6 in September, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 103.0. Analysts expected the index to rise to 103.0 in October.
The report came after U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders decreased by 1.2% last month, matching forecasts. Orders for durable goods in August were revised to a drop of 3.0% from a previously reported decline of 2.3%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, fell 0.4% in September, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%. Core durable goods orders slumped 0.9% in August.
Investors were looking ahead to Wednesday’s monetary policy announcement by the Fed for fresh indications on the timing of an initial rate hike.
EUR/USD edged down 0.11% to trade at 1.1044.
Sentiment on the single currency remained fragile after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled that further monetary easing is likely later this year.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.36% at 1.5298 and with USD/CHF adding 0.11% to 0.9847.
Sterling weakened after the U.K. Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded by 0.5% in the third quarter, missing forecasts for growth of 0.6%. The U.K.’s economy grew by 0.7% in the three months to June.
Year-over-year, U.K. economic growth expanded 2.3% in the third quarter, below expectations for 2.4%. The U.K. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.4% in the second quarter.
The Australian dollars was lower, with AUD/USD sliding 0.36% to 0.7223, while NZD/USD held steady at 0.6791.
USD/CAD climbed 0.68% to trade at 1.3241.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 96.99, still close to Friday's two-month highs of 97.30.