Investing.com - The dollar slid against most major currencies Wednesday after German business sentiment figures came in better than expected, which sent investors chasing the single currency.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.14% at 1.3248.
In Europe, the Ifo economic institute's German business climate index hit 102.4 for December, up from 101.4 in November and beating market forecasts for a 102.0 reading.
The data sent the single currency gaining against the safe-haven greenback as investors sought higher-yielding asset classes, especially outside of the U.S., where budgetary talks continue to make progress though a fixed deal remains elusive.
Hopes the White House and Congress can avoid the year-end fiscal cliff, a combo of tax hikes and spending cuts taking effect at the same time, also sparked demand for risk, which came at the greenback's expense.
Sticking points lie in taxes, with Democrats originally calling for tax hikes on those earning at least USD250,000 a year, with Republicans originally opposed to tax hikes for anyone.
Both sides have made concessions, with Republicans warming up to tax hikes on the wealthy by offering to raise rates on those earning a minimum USD1 million a year, with Democrats reportedly countering by raising the floor to USD400,000 from USD250,000.
While the White House and congressional Republicans have yet to make a deal, President Barak Obama said earlier he hoped a compromise would be reached by the Christmas holidays, which sent the dollar falling as investors sold it for riskier but more rewarding asset classes.
Elsewhere in the U.S., government data revealed that building permits increased 3.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 899,000 units, the highest since July 2008.
Analysts were predicting a gain of 0.8% to 875,000.
U.S. housing starts, however, fell by 3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000, missing expectations for a figure of 873,000 though markets still viewed the figure as evidence the sector continues to improve.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD trading up 0.02% at 1.6255.
The Bank of England released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting earlier, which revealed U.K. monetary authorities voted 8 to 1 to halt a bond-buying program.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.26% at 84.43 and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.09% at 0.9122.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.18% at 0.9875, AUD/USD down 0.40% at 1.0492 and NZD/USD trading down 0.56% at 0.8366.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.08% at 79.31.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as revised data on third quarter growth and a report on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
In addition, the U.S. is to publish industry data on existing home sales, a leading indicator of economic health.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.14% at 1.3248.
In Europe, the Ifo economic institute's German business climate index hit 102.4 for December, up from 101.4 in November and beating market forecasts for a 102.0 reading.
The data sent the single currency gaining against the safe-haven greenback as investors sought higher-yielding asset classes, especially outside of the U.S., where budgetary talks continue to make progress though a fixed deal remains elusive.
Hopes the White House and Congress can avoid the year-end fiscal cliff, a combo of tax hikes and spending cuts taking effect at the same time, also sparked demand for risk, which came at the greenback's expense.
Sticking points lie in taxes, with Democrats originally calling for tax hikes on those earning at least USD250,000 a year, with Republicans originally opposed to tax hikes for anyone.
Both sides have made concessions, with Republicans warming up to tax hikes on the wealthy by offering to raise rates on those earning a minimum USD1 million a year, with Democrats reportedly countering by raising the floor to USD400,000 from USD250,000.
While the White House and congressional Republicans have yet to make a deal, President Barak Obama said earlier he hoped a compromise would be reached by the Christmas holidays, which sent the dollar falling as investors sold it for riskier but more rewarding asset classes.
Elsewhere in the U.S., government data revealed that building permits increased 3.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 899,000 units, the highest since July 2008.
Analysts were predicting a gain of 0.8% to 875,000.
U.S. housing starts, however, fell by 3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000, missing expectations for a figure of 873,000 though markets still viewed the figure as evidence the sector continues to improve.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD trading up 0.02% at 1.6255.
The Bank of England released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting earlier, which revealed U.K. monetary authorities voted 8 to 1 to halt a bond-buying program.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.26% at 84.43 and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.09% at 0.9122.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.18% at 0.9875, AUD/USD down 0.40% at 1.0492 and NZD/USD trading down 0.56% at 0.8366.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.08% at 79.31.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as revised data on third quarter growth and a report on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
In addition, the U.S. is to publish industry data on existing home sales, a leading indicator of economic health.