The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies Tuesday amid mixed economic data from the country and rising concerns that the Britain may leave the European Union (EU). U.S. existing-home sales crept forward in January to the highest annual rate in six months, according to the National Association of Realtors Tuesday.
Total existing-home sales rose 0.4 percent from a downwardly revised 5.45 million units in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million in January, beating market consensus of 5.32 million. U.S. consumer confidence came out weaker than expected.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index stands at 92.2 in February, down from 97.8 in January. London Mayor Boris Johnson, a heavyweight conservative, announced Sunday that he will back the call for Britain to leave the bloc in a national referendum in June on the country's EU membership.
The announcement was regarded by the British media as a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron's efforts to keep Britain in the EU as Johnson was an eloquent speaker and popular among voters. The sterling and euro plunged 0.97 percent and 0.15 percent, respectively against the greenback Tuesday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other currencies, was up 0.10 percent at 97.477 in late trading. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1014 U.S. dollars from 1.1027 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.4022 U.S. dollars from 1.4147 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7214 U.S. dollar from 0.7229 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 112.00 Japanese yen, lower than 112.79 yen of the previous session. The dollar declined to 0.9920 Swiss franc from 0.9987 Swiss franc but rose to 1.3758 Canadian dollars from 1.3713 Canadian dollars.
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