(RTTNews.com) - The US dollar edged lower against its major rivals in early New York deals on Tuesday as risk sentiment re-emerged in the market following a report showed that the U.S. housing starts and building permits both increased by more than expected in the month of November.
New housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 in November, 9.3 percent above the revised October estimate of 627,000, according to figures released Tuesday by the Commerce Department. Most economists had expected housing starts to edge up to 636,000 from the 628,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the much bigger than expected monthly increase, housing starts rose to their highest level since April of 2010. Compared to November of 2010, housing starts were up by 24.3 percent.
Furthermore, building permits, a leading indicator of future housing activity, also rose in November, coming in at an annual rate of 681,000, 5.7 percent above October levels. Most economists had expected building permits to drop somewhat, forecasting a level of 645,000. However, October's building permit figures were revised down to 644,000 from the 653,000 initially reported.
The dollar tumbled against most major currencies following the report, sliding to an 11-day low of 1.5695 against the pound, 8-day low of 0.9273 against the Swiss franc and a weekly low of 1.3133 against the euro around 8:50 am ET. Against the yen, the greenback slipped to a session's low of 77.77 around 9:30 am ET.
