Investing.com – The dollar traded roughly unchanged against a basket of major currencies as upbeat economic data and signs of progress on tax reform lifted sentiment but a surge in sterling weighed on upside momentum.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.03% at 93.17.
Gross domestic product increased at a 3.3% annual rate in the July-September period, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate of GDP on Wednesday, beating a previous estimate of 3%.
Pending Home Sales rose 3.5% in October following a 0.4% decline in the previous month amid an uptick in housing activity. That beat economist forecast for a 1% rise.
The reports came as outgoing Federal chair Janet Yellen testified on the economic outlook before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday. Yellen reaffirmed the central bank’s stance on monetary policy of gradual rate hikes amid concerns that the economy would overheat. Yellen's somewhat hawkish comments lifted Treasury yields, supporting an uptick in the dollar.
"We are not seeing undue inflationary pressure in the labor market, so our policy remains accommodative," Yellen said. "But we do think it's important to gradually move our policy rate toward what I'll call a neutral level, which would be consistent with sustainably strong labor market conditions," she said.
Upside in the dollar was capped, however, amid a rally in sterling to a two-month high against the greenback on news reports of a UK-EU agreement on the so-called Brexit divorce bill.
If a settlement on the Brexit divorce bill is agreed, it paves the way for UK-EU discussions on an interim trade deal, easing the risk of “hard Brexit” – the UK exiting the EU without a trade deal.
EUR/USD added 0.26% to $1.1856, while EUR/GBP fell 0.50% to £0.8829.
USD/JPY rose 0.36% to Y111.88, while USD/CAD rose 0.27% to C$1.2852.