Investing.com - The dollar was higher against the euro and the yen on Tuesday, as dollar demand continued to be underpinned by expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon pull back its bond buying program.
During European late morning trade, the euro fell to session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.27% to 1.3026.
The single currency came under pressure after Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned late Monday, after recent figures indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter.
Elsewhere, euro zone officials said Tuesday that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next Monday.
The dollar was steady at four-week highs against the yen, with USD/JPY easing up 0.10% to 99.75.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, for further clues on when the U.S. central bank may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.
Elsewhere, the dollar edged higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.12% to 1.5196 despite data showing that construction activity in the U.K. expanded at the fastest pace since May 2012 in June.
Markit said the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.0 in June from 50.8 in May, slightly below expectations for a reading of 51.1.
The data boosted the outlook for second quarter growth and lowered the chances for additional easing measures by the Bank of England at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday.
The dollar was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.25% to 0.9475.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD down 0.54% to 0.9185, NZD/USD losing 0.38% to trade at 0.7791 and USD/CAD climbing 0.19% to 1.0515.
Earlier Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold at a record low 2.75%, but left open the door to further rate cuts later this year, saying the subdued inflation outlook left scope for more easing.
The RBA said the level of the Aussie remained high despite recent falls and added that a further depreciation would help rebalance the economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.26% to 83.41.
The U.S. was to produce official data on factory orders later in the trading day.
During European late morning trade, the euro fell to session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.27% to 1.3026.
The single currency came under pressure after Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned late Monday, after recent figures indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter.
Elsewhere, euro zone officials said Tuesday that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next Monday.
The dollar was steady at four-week highs against the yen, with USD/JPY easing up 0.10% to 99.75.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, for further clues on when the U.S. central bank may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.
Elsewhere, the dollar edged higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.12% to 1.5196 despite data showing that construction activity in the U.K. expanded at the fastest pace since May 2012 in June.
Markit said the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.0 in June from 50.8 in May, slightly below expectations for a reading of 51.1.
The data boosted the outlook for second quarter growth and lowered the chances for additional easing measures by the Bank of England at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday.
The dollar was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.25% to 0.9475.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD down 0.54% to 0.9185, NZD/USD losing 0.38% to trade at 0.7791 and USD/CAD climbing 0.19% to 1.0515.
Earlier Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold at a record low 2.75%, but left open the door to further rate cuts later this year, saying the subdued inflation outlook left scope for more easing.
The RBA said the level of the Aussie remained high despite recent falls and added that a further depreciation would help rebalance the economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.26% to 83.41.
The U.S. was to produce official data on factory orders later in the trading day.