Investing.com - The dollar remained near nine-year highs against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after a string of upbeat U.S. economic reports sparked further optimism over the strength of the country's recovery.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light this week with many investors away for the Christmas holiday and ahead of the New Year's holiday.
In a revised report, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index ticked down to 93.6 this month from a reading of 93.8 in November. Analysts expected the index to fall to 93.1 in December.
The U.S. Census Bureau said new home sales fell 1.6% last month to 438,000 units from a revised total of 445,000 units in October. Analysts had expected new home sales to hit 460,000 in November.
Data also showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.6% in November, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.3% rise in October.
The reports came after final data showed that U.S. gross domestic product rose 5.0% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a growth rate of 4.3% and up from 3.9% in the three months to June.
Another report showed that U.S. durable goods orders slipped 0.7% last month, confounding expectations for a 3.0% increase, while core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, fell 0.4% in November after a 1.0% decline in October.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was rose 0.37% to 90.28, the highest level since December 2005.
EUR/USD hit fresh two-year lows at 1.2165 before retracing to 1.2186, down 0.35% for the day.
The pound dropped to 16-month lows against the dollar, with GBP/USD down 0.54% to 1.5505.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said the U.K. current account deficit widened to £27.0 billion in the third quarter from £24.3 billion in the second quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of £23.1 billion.
A separate report showed that U.K. gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the third quarter, in line with expectations and down from a 0.8% growth rate in the three months to June.
Year-on-year, the U.K. economy grew at a rate of 3.6% in the last quarter, above expectations for growth of 3.0% and unchanged from the second quarter's revised rate.
The Swiss franc remained near two-year highs, with USD/CHF up 0.27% at 0.9867, while the yen reached fresh two-week lows, with USD/JPY gaining 0.48% to 120.65.
The Russian ruble was higher against the dollar, with USD/RUB down 0.70% at 55.45, as it remained supported ahead of major month-end tax payments in Russia.
The Australian dollar was trading near four-and-a-half year lows, with AUD/USD down 0.32% at 0.8106, while NZD/USD slipped 0.10% to 0.7720 after data showed that New Zealand's trade deficit narrowed far more-than-expected to NZ$213 million last month, from NZ$911 million in October.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.11% to 1.1621 after data showed that Canada's GDP rose 0.3% in October, beating expectations for a growth rate of 0.1% and down from 0.4% in September.