Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies in subdued trade on Tuesday, after the release of downbeat U.S. housing sector data as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan’s policy statements due on Wednesday.
EUR/USD held steady at 1.1180.
The U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts dropped 5.8% to 1.142 million units last month from July’s total of 1.212 million units. Analysts had expected a decline of 1.7% in August.
Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued declined 0.4% to 1.139 million units from 1.144 million. Economists had forecast a 2.5% rise to 1.170 million units in August.
Investors remained cautious with the U.S. dollar ahead of the Fed’s monthly policy meeting, set to begin later Tuesday, amid ongoing uncertainty over a possible rate hike.
GBP/USD dropped 0.51% to 1.2963, the lowest since August 16.
USD/JPY fell 0.29% to trade at 101.63, while USD/CHF slipped 0.12% to 0.9790.
Market participants were also looking ahead to the BoJ’s upcoming policy meeting this week, amid speculation over a possible rate cut further into negative territory.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.29% at 0.7556 and with NZD/USD advancing 0.44% to 0.7325.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD added 0.16% to trade at 1.3226.
The commodity-related loonie came under pressure as oil prices moved back lower on Tuesday after Venezuela said global crude supplies needed to decline by 10% in order to bring production down to consumption levels, sparking fresh supply glut concerns.
Crude prices had rallied on Monday after Venezuela said OPEC and non-OPEC producers were close to reaching an output stabilizing deal.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 95.83.