Investing.com - The dollar was steady against the euro on Monday and remained close to six-month highs against the broadly weaker pound following the release of mixed U.S. economic data on durable goods orders and pending home sales.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was hovering close to 11-month lows against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.02% to 1.3449.
A report by the National Association of Realtors said U.S. pending home sales fell by 4.3% in December, compared to expectations for a 0.3% rise after a 1.7% increase in November.
Elsewhere, the Commerce Department said U.S. durable goods orders, which include transportation items, rose by a seasonally adjusted 4.6% in December, beating expectations for a 1.8% gain.
Investors were jittery ahead of U.S. data on fourth quarter growth and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement on Wednesday and U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.
Demand for the euro continued to be underpinned by optimism that the debt crisis in the euro zone has turned a corner.
The greenback was trading close to six-month highs against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.53% to 1.5710.
The pound weakened broadly after incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said that there continued to be monetary policy options in all major economies.
The comments came after data on Friday showed that the U.K. economy contracted 0.3% in the fourth quarter, putting Britain on track for a triple-dip recession.
The dollar eased back from two-and-a-half year highs against the yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.27% to 90.63.
The yen remained under pressure as expectations for more easing by the Bank of Japan remained intact after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that it is important for the central bank to achieve its 2% inflation target “as soon as possible.”
The greenback was little changed against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF edging up 0.01% to 0.9270.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD up 0.32% to 1.0090, AUD/USD down 0.19% to 1.0406 and NZD/USD tumbling 0.89% to 0.8306.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.03% to 79.83.
