Investing.com - The greenback firmed against most of the world's major currencies on Wednesday after weak U.S. home price and consumer confidence numbers surprised the markets, which prompted an equities sell-off and a flight to the greenback as a safe-haven play.
Mixed signals out of Europe made the dollar more attractive as well, with EUR/USD falling 0.12% and trading at 1.3068 early in the Asian session.
Greece remains "a step away" from finalizing terms to restructure its debts with private creditors, according to the country's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, yet until a deal is announced, uncertainty remains, which bruised the euro prior to Asia's opening on Wednesday.
Furthermore, yields in Portuguese bond markets spiked, stoking fears the debt crisis is spreading although healthier-than-expected German unemployment rates lent support to the euro, while the E.U. pledged to tackle deficits and ramp up the availability of assistance facilities.
In the U.S., the S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index came in lower than expected for November while consumer confidence figures fell in January, the latter number catching the market off guard, sparking a flight to the dollar until skies clear on the horizon.
Fears of higher gasoline prices and low job security kept confidence levels low.
Considering recent gains made in U.S. equities markets, the weak economic indicators made dollar-buying and stock-selling the order of business for the day.
"I think the data in the U.S. was a bit lackluster," said Daniel Brehon, a currency strategist at Deutsche Bank in New York, according to Bloomberg.
"We had a strong equity market rally this month and we expected to see better."
Meanwhile, the dollar was steady against the pound, with Cable flat at 1.5760.
U.K. bank lending rose GBP0.4billion in December, below expectations for a GBP1.2 billion increase, however, separate reports revealed that U.K. consumer confidence rose to its highest level in seven months in January.
The greenback was down 0.13% against the yen, with USD/JPY trading at 76.17, and up slightly against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.01% to 0.9202.
The greenback was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.06% at 1.0018, AUD/USD up 0.12% at 1.0636 and NZD/USD down 0.11% at 0.8256.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.01% at 79.44.
Investors will keep an eye out for eurozone inflation figures on Wednesday, while in the U.S. ADP employment numbers will serve as a precursor to Friday's official jobs report, one of the most-watched indicators in the U.S. these days.
The ISM manufacturing index and crude oil stockpiles will hit the wire in the U.S. Wednesday as well.
Australia is set to publish new home sales figures, while the RBA is also to release data on commodity prices, a key indicator of the country’s trade balance.
Japan will produce government data on average cash earnings.
The U.K. is to release industry data on house price inflation and manufacturing activity, while Switzerland is to release official data on retail sales and manufacturing sector growth.
Mixed signals out of Europe made the dollar more attractive as well, with EUR/USD falling 0.12% and trading at 1.3068 early in the Asian session.
Greece remains "a step away" from finalizing terms to restructure its debts with private creditors, according to the country's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, yet until a deal is announced, uncertainty remains, which bruised the euro prior to Asia's opening on Wednesday.
Furthermore, yields in Portuguese bond markets spiked, stoking fears the debt crisis is spreading although healthier-than-expected German unemployment rates lent support to the euro, while the E.U. pledged to tackle deficits and ramp up the availability of assistance facilities.
In the U.S., the S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index came in lower than expected for November while consumer confidence figures fell in January, the latter number catching the market off guard, sparking a flight to the dollar until skies clear on the horizon.
Fears of higher gasoline prices and low job security kept confidence levels low.
Considering recent gains made in U.S. equities markets, the weak economic indicators made dollar-buying and stock-selling the order of business for the day.
"I think the data in the U.S. was a bit lackluster," said Daniel Brehon, a currency strategist at Deutsche Bank in New York, according to Bloomberg.
"We had a strong equity market rally this month and we expected to see better."
Meanwhile, the dollar was steady against the pound, with Cable flat at 1.5760.
U.K. bank lending rose GBP0.4billion in December, below expectations for a GBP1.2 billion increase, however, separate reports revealed that U.K. consumer confidence rose to its highest level in seven months in January.
The greenback was down 0.13% against the yen, with USD/JPY trading at 76.17, and up slightly against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.01% to 0.9202.
The greenback was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.06% at 1.0018, AUD/USD up 0.12% at 1.0636 and NZD/USD down 0.11% at 0.8256.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.01% at 79.44.
Investors will keep an eye out for eurozone inflation figures on Wednesday, while in the U.S. ADP employment numbers will serve as a precursor to Friday's official jobs report, one of the most-watched indicators in the U.S. these days.
The ISM manufacturing index and crude oil stockpiles will hit the wire in the U.S. Wednesday as well.
Australia is set to publish new home sales figures, while the RBA is also to release data on commodity prices, a key indicator of the country’s trade balance.
Japan will produce government data on average cash earnings.
The U.K. is to release industry data on house price inflation and manufacturing activity, while Switzerland is to release official data on retail sales and manufacturing sector growth.