Investing.com - The dollar hit fresh two-week highs against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after comments by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer added to expectations for an upcoming U.S. rate hike.
EUR/USD slid 0.29% to a fresh two-week low of 1.1154.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to an 11-month high of 101.1 this month from a reading of 96.7 in July, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 97.3. August’s reading was its highest since September 2015.
Analysts had expected the index to slip to 97.0 in August.
The greenback also remained supported after Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said earlier Tuesday that the U.S. labor market is almost at full strength and the pace of interest rate increases will be data dependent.
The comments came during an interview with Bloomberg TV as investors looked ahead to the nonfarm payrolls report for July, scheduled for Friday.
The U.S. dollar had already strengthened broadly after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech at Jackson Hole last Friday that the case for raising U.S. interest rates has strengthened in recent months, citing improvements in the labor market and hopes for modest economic growth.
GBP/USD was little changed at 1.3113, off lows of 1.3060 hit earlier in the session.
The Bank of England earlier reported that net lending to individuals increased by £3.8 billion in July, compared to expectations for a £4.9 billion rise. Net lending to individuals increased by £5.1 billion in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of £5.2 billion.
USD/JPY climbed 0.73% to 102.66, while USD/CHF gained 0.38% to 0.9815.
Also Tuesday, data showed that the KOF economic barometer for Switzerland ticked down to 99.8 in August from 103.5 in July, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 102.7. Analysts had expected the index to slip to 102.0 this month.
In Japan, official data showed that household spending fell by an annualized rate of 0.5% in July, compared to expectations for a 0.9% decline and after a 2.2% drop the previous month.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.66% at 0.7516 and with NZD/USD shedding 0.39% to 0.7223.
Markets shrugged off a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics saying that building approvals increased by 11.3% in July, beating expectations for a 0.5% fall. Building approvals dropped 4.7% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 2.9% decline.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD advanced 0.51% to trade at a three-week high of 1.3078.
Statistics Canada said on Tuesday that the current account deficit widened to C$19.9 billion in the second quarter from C$16.6 billion in the first quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$16.8 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account deficit to widen to C$20.5 billion in the last quarter.
A separate report showed that the raw materials price index declined by 2.7% in July, confouding expectations for a 1.2% fall. The RMPI rose 2.0% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.8% gain.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.39% at 95.90, just off a three-week high of 95.90 hit earlier in the day.