Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as concerns over the global effects of the Brexit vote re-emerged and as investors eyed a report by the Bank of England and comments by BoE Governor Mark Carney due later in the day.
GBP/USD tumbled 1.19% to a fresh 31-year low of 1.3128.
Research group Markit said its U.K. services purchasing managers’ index dropped to 52.3 last month from a reading of 53.5 in May. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 52.5 in June.
Despite the fact that the service sector continued to expand, Markit pointed out that the growth over the second quarter as a whole was the slowest since the first quarter of 2013.
Markit also noted that 89% of the surveys were submitted before the Brexit vote.
Investors were still cautious as Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union sparked uncertainty over the consequences of the U.K. vote on the country’s economy and the global economy as a whole.
On Monday, Nigel Farage, a leading proponent of the Brexit campaign, resigned as head of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) saying he'd "done his bit."
Market participants were looking ahead to the Bank of England’s financial stability report due later Tuesday for fresh clarity on the health of the U.K. banking sector in the wake of the Brexit vote.
EUR/USD slipped 0.10% to 1.1143.
Earlier Tuesday, Markit said its German services PMI rose to 53.7 in June from 53.2 in May, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
For the entire euro zone, the Markit services PMI rose to 52.8 last month from 52.4 in May, also condounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
USD/JPY declined 0.84% to 101.72, while USD/CHF held steady at 0.9714.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.53% at 0.7499 and with NZD/USD sliding 0.32% to 0.7204.
In a widely expected move, the RBA held its benchmark interest rate at 1.75% but said it was willing to act if necessary, fuelling speculation over a rate cut in the near future.
Also Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that retail sales rose 0.2% in May, compared to expectations for a 0.3% gain.
A separate report showed that Australia’s trade deficit widened to A$2.218 billion in May from a revised A$1.785 billion in April. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to A$1.500 billion in May.
In New Zealand, data earlier showed that the NZIER business confidence index rose to 19 in the second quarter from a reading of 2 in the three months to March.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD gained 0.41% to trade at 1.2897.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 95.69.