Investing.com - The dollar index held on to modest gains against a basket of the other major currencies on Tuesday after data showing that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in February supported the outlook for first quarter growth.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.16% at 100.55 by 09.05 ET.
The Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit shrank by 9.6% to $43.6 billion, while January's trade deficit was revised down to $48.2 billion from $48.5 billion.
Economists had forecast the trade gap contracting to $44.8 billion in February.
The data came as investors remained on edge amid heightened uncertainty about U.S.-China trade ahead of an upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
Market sentiment has been hit by growing doubts over whether the Trump administration's economic proposals would boost the U.S. economy and allow the Federal Reserve to tighten policy more aggressively.
The dollar was at one-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.30% at 110.55 after falling as low as 110.36 overnight, the lowest since March 28.
The euro was lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD slipping 0.14% to 1.0655.
Sterling was also weaker against the greenback, with GBP/USD down 0.42% at 1.2434.
The pound remained under pressure after data showing that growth in the UK construction sector slowed slightly in March added to indications that the economy is losing momentum.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was weaker, with AUD/USD falling 0.68% to 0.7553.
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates on hold at 1.5% at its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday as anticipated, but noted that some indicators in the labor market had softened recently.