Investing.com - The dollar pushed higher against the other major currencies on Tuesday as trade in the foreign exchange market remained subdued due to the summer holidays.
During European late morning trade, the dollar rose to session highs against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.31% to trade at 99.96, up from session lows of 99.15.
The dollar had been broadly weaker during the Asian session after data on Monday showing that U.S. existing home sales fell unexpectedly in June dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve will start scaling back its asset purchase program this year.
The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales fell 1.2% to an annual rate of 5.08 million units in June, but still remained close to three-and-a-half year highs.
In Japan, the government upgraded its assessment of the economy for the third consecutive month in July, saying "areas of self-sustaining recovery can be observed."
In its monthly economic report, the government also said consumer prices are “leveling off," indicating that deflation is abating.
The dollar edged higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.09% to 1.3175.
The single currency remained supported after Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said Monday the current government will remain in office after political leaders resolved a deadlock that had threatened to derail the country's EUR78 billion bailout program.
Elsewhere, the dollar gained ground against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD losing 0.10% to trade at 1.5344 and USD/CHF climbing 0.29% to 0.9389.
The greenback was little changed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD dipping 0.06% to 0.9243, NZD/USD up 0.11% to 0.7979 and USD/CAD edging up 0.06% to trade at 1.0338.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.10% to 82.40.
