WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With no U.S. economic data to drive the direction of trade Tuesday, the dollar is little changed in comparison to its major rivals. Investors are looking forward to the U.S. jobs report for February at the end of the week, as well as the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
Investors can also look forward to the release of the ADP employment report and the ISM non-manufacturing report on Wednesday. Factory orders are slated to be released on Thursday, as well as the weekly jobless claims data. Nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs are also expected to be reported on Thursday.
The dollar rose to an early high of $1.1154 against the Euro Tuesday, but has since retreated back to around $1.1195, nearly unchanged for the session.
Eurozone producer prices declined the most since November 2009 on falling energy prices, Eurostat reported Tuesday. Producer prices fell more-than-expected 3.4 percent on a yearly basis in January, following a 2.6 percent drop in December. This was the biggest fall since November 2009, when prices fell 4.4 percent. Economists had forecast a decline of 3 percent.
Germany's retail sales growth accelerated unexpectedly in January to log its fastest gain in four-and-a-half years, boosting hopes of consumer spending cushioning economic growth. Retail sales annual growth improved for the second straight month in January, to 5.3 percent from 4.8 percent in December, data released by Destatis showed Tuesday. Economists had forecast only 3.0 percent growth for January.
The buck also climbed to a high of $1.5344 against the pound sterling Tuesday, but has since pulled back to around $1.5375.
The U.K. construction sector expanded strongly in February as new orders logged the steepest rise since October 2014, survey data from Markit showed Tuesday. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply/Markit construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 60.1 in February from 59.1 in January. It was forecast to fall to 59. The score was above the neutral 50 threshold for the twenty-second straight month.
The greenback reached over a 2-week high of around Y120.260 against the Japanese Yen yesterday, but has slipped to around Y119.560 this afternoon.
The monetary base in Japan spiked 36.7 percent on year in February, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday, coming in at 275.261 trillion yen. That follows the 37.4 percent annual surge in January.
Total labor cash earnings in Japan grew at a stable rate in January, exceeding expectations, a report from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Tuesday. Total earnings increased 1.3 percent year-over-year in January, the same as in December. This was more than the 0.5 percent increase expected by economists.
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