Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Tuesday, after data showed that U.S. consumer confidence re-approached the highest level since 2007 this month, adding to expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the coming months.
In a report, the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 101.3 this month from a reading of 98.8 in February, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 96.4. Analysts expected the index to decline to 96.0 in March.
Separately, market research group Kingsbury International said its Chicago purchasing managers’ index improved by 0.5 points to 46.3 this month from a reading of 45.8 in February. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 51.5 in March.
Investors were now looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the path of monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.33% to 98.63.
EUR/USD dropped 0.87% to a more than one-week low of 1.0734 after Greece failed to reach an agreement on a program of economic reforms with its lenders on Monday.
Athens will run out of cash later this month unless it can reach a compromise with its creditors in time to unlock more bailout funds.
Earlier Tuesday, preliminary data showed that euro zone consumer prices dipped 0.1% on a year-over-year basis in March, in line with expectations after a 0.3% drop in February.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was up 0.6% year-on-year, down from 0.7% in February.
A separate report showed that the euro area unemployment rate ticked down to 11.3% in February from 11.4% in January. It was the lowest unemployment rate since May 2012.
The pound turned higher, with GBP/USD up 0.11% to 1.4822 after data showed that the U.K. economy grew 0.6% in the fourth quarter, up from the preliminary estimate of 0.5%.
The annual rate of growth was also revised higher to 2.8% from the initial estimate of 2.6%.
Another report showed that Britain’s current account deficit narrowed in the final quarter of the year, but rose to a record high of 5.5% of GDP for 2014 as a whole.
Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.14% to 119.94 and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.48% to 0.9715.
The Australian and New Zealand were weaker, with AUD/USD dropping 0.52% to 0.7615 and NZD/USD falling 0.29% to 0.7478. The kiwi showed little reaction to data earlier showing that the ANZ business confidence index for New Zealand rose to 35.8 this month from a reading of 34.4 in February.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD pulled away from session highs of 1.2784 but was still up 0.10% at 1.2695 after Statistics Canada said the economy contracted 0.1% in January, slowing after recording growth of 0.3% in December.
While economists had forecast growth of 0.2%, some investors had feared a contraction of 0.2% due to the impact of lower oil prices.