Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the other majors currencies on Wednesday, despite the release of upbeat U.S. housing sector data as traders were beginning to unwind positions ahead of the Christmas holiday.
EUR/USD climbed 0.55% to 1.0447, off the previous session’s fresh 14-year low of 1.0349.
The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose to 5.61 million units in November from 5.57 million units the previous month. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall to 5.50 million last month.
Market sentiment had soured after Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was shot and killed at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara Monday evening.
A few hours later, a truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring up to 50 others.
The greenback was still broadly supported by the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to raise interest rates by 25 basis points. The central bank also projected three more rate hikes for 2017.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.20% to 1.2387, still close to Thursday’s one-month low of 1.2310.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that public sector net borrowing increased by £12.21 billion in November, compared to expectations for a rise of £11.30 billion.
Public sector net borrowing climbed £4.32 billion in October, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of £4.30 billion.
USD/JPY slid 0.37% to 117.42, while USD/CHF dropped 0.44% to 1.0246.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7258 and with NZD/USD at 0.6916.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD was little changed 1.3377.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.41% at 102.84, still close to Tuesday’s fresh 14-year highs of 103.62.