Investing.com - The dollar gained against most major currencies on Wednesday after a widely-watched consumer sentiment index beat expectations and boosted demand for the greenback.
A similar report released on Tuesday weakened the U.S. currency by fanning ongoing expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep its dollar-weakening monetary stimulus programs in place through some time in 2014.
Stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases aim to drive recovery by pushing down long-term interest rates, weakening the dollar in the process, though Wednesday's data put expectations back on track for tapering to begin during the first months of the new year.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.04% at 1.3567.
The dollar saw support earlier after the University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0.
Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two-month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The dollar's gains, however, were cautious.
On Tuesday, the Conference Board reported that its index of U.S. consumer confidence declined to 70.4 in November from 72.4 in October, missing market calls for the index to rise to 72.9.
Meanwhile in Europe, the euro saw support after data showed that the forward-looking Gfk index of German consumer climate rose to a six-year high of 7.4 for December from 7.1 in November. Economists had expected an unchanged reading.
The euro saw additional support after German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached a deal to form a coalition government with the Social Democrats on Wednesday, following weeks of negotiations.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.36% at 1.6275.
The pound saw support after data showed that a second estimate of U.K. third-quarter gross domestic product was unchanged at 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, while the annual rate of growth was also unchanged at 1.5%. It was the fastest quarterly rate of growth in over three years.
Both figures met market expectations.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.86% at 102.15, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.23% at 0.9085.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.55% at 1.0598, AUD/USD down 0.59% at 0.9072 and NZD/USD trading down 0.71% at 0.813.6.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% at 80.76.
A similar report released on Tuesday weakened the U.S. currency by fanning ongoing expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep its dollar-weakening monetary stimulus programs in place through some time in 2014.
Stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases aim to drive recovery by pushing down long-term interest rates, weakening the dollar in the process, though Wednesday's data put expectations back on track for tapering to begin during the first months of the new year.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.04% at 1.3567.
The dollar saw support earlier after the University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0.
Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two-month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The dollar's gains, however, were cautious.
On Tuesday, the Conference Board reported that its index of U.S. consumer confidence declined to 70.4 in November from 72.4 in October, missing market calls for the index to rise to 72.9.
Meanwhile in Europe, the euro saw support after data showed that the forward-looking Gfk index of German consumer climate rose to a six-year high of 7.4 for December from 7.1 in November. Economists had expected an unchanged reading.
The euro saw additional support after German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached a deal to form a coalition government with the Social Democrats on Wednesday, following weeks of negotiations.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.36% at 1.6275.
The pound saw support after data showed that a second estimate of U.K. third-quarter gross domestic product was unchanged at 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, while the annual rate of growth was also unchanged at 1.5%. It was the fastest quarterly rate of growth in over three years.
Both figures met market expectations.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.86% at 102.15, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.23% at 0.9085.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.55% at 1.0598, AUD/USD down 0.59% at 0.9072 and NZD/USD trading down 0.71% at 0.813.6.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% at 80.76.