WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major rivals Tuesday afternoon, but remains little changed overall. The rather subdued action comes despite the release of a pair of better than expected U.S. economic reports this morning.
After reporting a sharp pullback in new residential construction in the U.S. in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing housing starts rebounded in the month of March.
The report said housing starts jumped by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.319 million in March after tumbling by 3.3 percent to a revised 1.295 million in February. Economists had expected housing starts to increase by 2.1 percent to a rate of 1.262 million from the 1.236 million originally reported for the previous month.
The Commerce Department also said building permits surged up by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.354 million in March after slumping by 4.1 percent to a revised 1.321 million in February. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to climb by 1.9 percent to a rate of 1.323 million from the 1.298 million originally reported for the previous month.
Partly reflecting a substantial rebound in utilities output, the Federal Reserve released a report on Tuesday showing a slightly bigger than expected increase in U.S. industrial production in the month of March.
The report said industrial production climbed by 0.5 percent in March after surging up by a revised 1.0 percent in February. Economists had expected production to increase by 0.4 percent compared to the 1.1 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar slid to over a 2-week low of $1.2413 against the Euro Tuesday morning, but has since rebounded to around $1.2365.
German economic confidence declined sharply in April, survey data from the Mannheim-based think tank ZEW showed Tuesday. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment dropped to -8.2 in April from +5.1 in March. The score was forecast to fall to -1.
The buck dropped to a 22-month low of $1.4376 against the pound sterling early Tuesday, but has since bounced back to around $1.4295.
The UK unemployment rate declined to a fresh low in three months to February and earnings of employees increased at the fastest pace in nearly three years, signaling easing squeeze on consumer spending.
The ILO jobless rate came in at 4.2 percent in the three months to February, which was below the 4.3 percent logged in the three months to January, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. This was the lowest rate since comparable data began in 1971.
The greenback climbed to a high of Y107.208 against the Japanese Yen Tuesday, but has since eased back to around Y106.985.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX