Investing.com - The dollar remained mostly higher against the other major currencies on Friday, as strong U.S. new home sales data supported demand for the greenback, while investors turned their attention to Sunday's elections in Ukraine.
The dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to 1.3631.
The Census Bureau said U.S. new home sales rose 6.4% to 433,000 units in April, from 407,000 units in March, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated 384,000. Analysts had expected new home sales to rise to 425,000 units last month.
The data fuelled further optimism over the recovery of the U.S. housing market after the National Association of Realtors on Thursday said existing home sales increased 1.3% in April to an annual rate of 4.65 million units.
Meanwhile, the euro remained under pressure after the Ifo Institute for Economic Research earlier said its index for German business climate ticked down to a five-month low of 110.4 in May, from a reading of 111.2 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 110.9.
The pound was lower against the dollar, with GBP/USD slipping 0.18% to 1.6840.
Sentiment on the pound remained vulnerable after data on Thursday confirmed that the U.K. economy grew 0.8% in the first three months of the year, disappointing some market expectations for an upward revision.
The dollar was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging up 0.14% to 101.91 and with USD/CHF rising 0.18% to 0.8959.
The greenback was mixed against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD adding 0.09% to 0.9235, NZD/USD sliding 0.22% to 0.8547 and USD/CAD edging down 0.15% to 1.0879.
In Canada, official data showed that core consumer price inflation rose 0.2% last month, in line with expectations, after a 0.3% increase in March.
Consumer price inflation in Canada, including the eight most volatile items, rose 0.3% in April, as markets had anticipated, after a 0.6% gain the previous month.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.16% to 80.41.
Market participants turned their attention to Ukraine, where presidential elections were scheduled to take place on Sunday May 25. U.S. and European officials have already warned that Russia would face additional sanctions if Moscow disrupts the upcoming elections.