Investing.com - The dollar was hovering near one-week highs against a basket of the other major currencies on Tuesday, while the euro remained under pressure amid ongoing concerns over political deadlock in Germany.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 94.03 by 08:30 AM ET (13:30 AM GMT), not far from its overnight high of 94.02, the highest level since November 14.
The euro was near one-week lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD slipping 0.1% to 1.1719.
The euro remained on the defensive after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she could not form a coalition government after talks collapsed late Sunday.
Merkel said she would prefer a new election to ruling with a minority, but Germany's president said political parties owed it to voters to try to form a government.
The prospect of prolonged political uncertainty in the euro area’s largest economy worried investors and is the latest episode of political turmoil to hit the region.
The euro was lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.23% at 131.81 after falling as low as 131.16 on Monday, its lowest since September 15.
Against the pound, the euro fell to more than one-week lows with EUR/GBP down 0.14% at 0.8853.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.16% to 112.44, holding above Monday’s low of 111.87, which was its lowest since mid-October.
Trade volumes remained relatively thin ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, which is also a national holiday in Japan.
Investors were looking ahead to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later on Tuesday, while the minutes from the Fed's November meeting were scheduled to be released on Wednesday.