The dollar is up against all of its major rivals Tuesday afternoon. The U.S. currency’s gains are more pronounced in comparison to its major European competitors, the Euro and the British pound. Trading action remains on the light side, following the Christmas holiday last week and the upcoming New Year’s holiday this week.
The buck turned in a lackluster performance yesterday, when there was little to no global economic data to drive trading. However, U.S. consumer confidence and the S&P Case-Shiller home price index both topped expectations this morning.
Home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas rose by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday. The report said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index climbed 0.8 percent in October after rising by a revised 0.5 percent in September.
Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.6 percent, which would have matched the increase originally reported for the previous month.
After reporting a moderate decrease in consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing that its U.S. consumer confidence index rose by more than expected in the month of December.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 96.5 in December from an upwardly revised 92.6 in November. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to rise to 93.5 from the 90.4 originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar jumped to a high of $1.0898 against the Euro this afternoon, from around $1.0990 this morning, but has since eased back to around $1.0930.
Germany’s core and extra budgets of overall public budget showed a financial surplus of EUR 3.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2015, Destatis reported Tuesday. In the same period of last year, the overall public budget showed a cash deficit of EUR 20.8 billion.
Italy’s consumer confidence weakened for the first time in five months in December, but less-than-expected, figures from the statistical office Istat showed Tuesday. The consumer confidence index dropped to 117.6 in December from 118.4 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to fall to 117.0.
Spanish retail sales growth slowed at a faster-than-expected pace in November, the statistical office INE reported Tuesday.
Retail sales rose a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 3.3 percent year-over-year in November, much slower than the 6.0 percent gain in the previous month, which was revised from a 5.8 percent hike reported earlier. Economists had expected the growth to ease to 4.6 percent.
The buck rose to a high of $1.4784 against the pound sterling this afternoon, from around $1.49 this morning, but has since retreated to around $1.4820.
The greenback has climbed to around Y120.425 against the Japanese Yen Tuesday afternoon, from around Y120.300 this morning.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com