Investing.com - The dollar staged a rebound in the U.S. on Tuesday with sentiment turning more upbeat on economic growth views that should be spurred by tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending under the new administration.
USD/JPY changed hands at 113.79, up 0.97%, while GBP/USD fell 0.21% to 1.2506 following a court ruling on the procedures the government may take to exit from the European Union trade bloc. USD/CHF rose 0.43% to 1.0010, but USD/CAD fell 0.57% to 1.3163.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.32% to 100.27 after falling to 99.88 overnight, its lowest since Dec. 8.
Concerns over President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies continued to dominate market sentiment weighed on the currency along with remarks from his nominee for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that an "excessively strong" dollar can have negative short-term impacts on the U.S. economy.
On the economic front, Markit’s preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January beat expectations as new orders expanded at their quickest pace since September 2014. December existing home sales missed expectations, but still closed out 2016 with their best year in a decade.
In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.8% to an annual rate of 5.49 million units, compared to forecasts of a 1.1% decline to 5.52 million.
Sterling retreated as a British Supreme Court ruling that the government will need parliamentary approval before triggering the process the exit the European Union looked unlikely to hamper Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans.