Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was steady against its major counterparts on Tuesday, as risk appetite was kept in check while markets awaited news of a breakthrough on a second bailout for Greece.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar pushed higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.24% to hit 1.3098.
The euro came under pressure after official data showed that German industrial output dropped by 2.9% in December, disappointing expectations for a modest 0.1% decline.
The euro found some support from underlying expectations that Greek political leaders will come to an agreement on bailout terms in order to avert a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was due to hold talks with coalition leaders later Tuesday to discuss what conditions they are prepared to accept, after postponing talks on Monday and failing to finalize an agreement over the weekend.
Earlier Tuesday, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was confident Greece would remain in the single currency bloc, provided that the country fulfilled its obligations to other bloc members.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.13% to hit 1.5801.
A report by the British Retail Consortium showed earlier that U.K. retail sales fell 0.3% on the year in January, after a 2.2% jump the previous month, as shoppers cut back on spending after heavy discounts boosted sales in the run up to Christmas.
The greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY adding 0.33% to hit 76.79 and USD/CHF climbing 0.40% to hit 0.9225.
The acting head of the Swiss National Bank Thomas Jordan said earlier that the central bank’s use of minimum exchange rate cap on the franc against the euro was the most effective instrument the bank had to protect the Swiss economy and reiterated that the SNB would defend the floor with the “upmost determination”.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts but was down against its Australian cousin, with USD/CAD adding 0.24% to hit 0.9982, NZD/USD slipping 0.18% to hit 0.8322 and AUD/USD advancing 0.61% to hit 1.0779.
The Aussie rallied earlier in the session after the Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5%, but the bank left the door open to further monetary easing if domestic demand weakened further.
Commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said “financial market sentiment, though remaining skittish, has generally improved since early December.”
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% to hit 79.30.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was due to testify on the economic outlook and federal budget situation before the Senate Budget Committee in Washington.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar pushed higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.24% to hit 1.3098.
The euro came under pressure after official data showed that German industrial output dropped by 2.9% in December, disappointing expectations for a modest 0.1% decline.
The euro found some support from underlying expectations that Greek political leaders will come to an agreement on bailout terms in order to avert a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was due to hold talks with coalition leaders later Tuesday to discuss what conditions they are prepared to accept, after postponing talks on Monday and failing to finalize an agreement over the weekend.
Earlier Tuesday, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was confident Greece would remain in the single currency bloc, provided that the country fulfilled its obligations to other bloc members.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.13% to hit 1.5801.
A report by the British Retail Consortium showed earlier that U.K. retail sales fell 0.3% on the year in January, after a 2.2% jump the previous month, as shoppers cut back on spending after heavy discounts boosted sales in the run up to Christmas.
The greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY adding 0.33% to hit 76.79 and USD/CHF climbing 0.40% to hit 0.9225.
The acting head of the Swiss National Bank Thomas Jordan said earlier that the central bank’s use of minimum exchange rate cap on the franc against the euro was the most effective instrument the bank had to protect the Swiss economy and reiterated that the SNB would defend the floor with the “upmost determination”.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts but was down against its Australian cousin, with USD/CAD adding 0.24% to hit 0.9982, NZD/USD slipping 0.18% to hit 0.8322 and AUD/USD advancing 0.61% to hit 1.0779.
The Aussie rallied earlier in the session after the Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5%, but the bank left the door open to further monetary easing if domestic demand weakened further.
Commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said “financial market sentiment, though remaining skittish, has generally improved since early December.”
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% to hit 79.30.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was due to testify on the economic outlook and federal budget situation before the Senate Budget Committee in Washington.