Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the traditional safe haven yen and the Swiss franc on Tuesday as the prospect of a U.S. military strike against Syria’s government sparked widespread risk aversion.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar fell to session lows against the yen, with USD/JPY dropping 1.07% to 97.45.
Safe haven inflows were boosted as expectations for a U.S. military strike against Syria grew after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was “undeniable” proof that the government had used chemical weapons against civilians.
The dollar was also lower against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF slipping 0.13% to 0.9216.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over how soon the Federal Reserve will start to reduce stimulus continued after data on Monday showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell more than expected last month.
The Commerce Department said U.S. durable goods orders dropped 7.3% in July, worse than expectations for a 4% decline. It was the largest drop since August 2012. The weak data raised doubts over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.30% to 1.3330.
The euro briefly touched intra-day highs after a report showed that the closely watched Ifo index of German business climate rose to a 16-month high of 107.5 in August from 106.2 in July. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 107.0.
The Current Assessment Index rose to 112.0 in August from 110.1 in July, compared to expectations for an increase to 110.9.
The dollar was near session highs against the pound, with GBP/USD losing 0.57% to trade at 1.5485.
Elsewhere, the greenback was stronger against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD falling 0.82% to 0.8953, NZD/USD tumbling 0.99% to 0.7773 and USD/CAD climbing 0.24% to 1.0526.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.13% to 81.52.
Investors were looking ahead to a report on U.S. house price inflation, as well as closely watched data on U.S. consumer confidence later Tuesday.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar fell to session lows against the yen, with USD/JPY dropping 1.07% to 97.45.
Safe haven inflows were boosted as expectations for a U.S. military strike against Syria grew after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was “undeniable” proof that the government had used chemical weapons against civilians.
The dollar was also lower against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF slipping 0.13% to 0.9216.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over how soon the Federal Reserve will start to reduce stimulus continued after data on Monday showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell more than expected last month.
The Commerce Department said U.S. durable goods orders dropped 7.3% in July, worse than expectations for a 4% decline. It was the largest drop since August 2012. The weak data raised doubts over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.30% to 1.3330.
The euro briefly touched intra-day highs after a report showed that the closely watched Ifo index of German business climate rose to a 16-month high of 107.5 in August from 106.2 in July. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 107.0.
The Current Assessment Index rose to 112.0 in August from 110.1 in July, compared to expectations for an increase to 110.9.
The dollar was near session highs against the pound, with GBP/USD losing 0.57% to trade at 1.5485.
Elsewhere, the greenback was stronger against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD falling 0.82% to 0.8953, NZD/USD tumbling 0.99% to 0.7773 and USD/CAD climbing 0.24% to 1.0526.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.13% to 81.52.
Investors were looking ahead to a report on U.S. house price inflation, as well as closely watched data on U.S. consumer confidence later Tuesday.