The dollar extended gains against the euro on Wednesday and rose to a session high after data showed the pace of sales of existing U.S. homes fell in January. The dollar was already higher on Wednesday as investors remained averse to risk despite a more optimistic tone from key U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, since Tuesday. In his first speech to Congress on Tuesday evening, U.S. President Barack Obama tried to reassure Americans the country would emerge stronger from the crisis but analysts said he shed little light on how his administration would stabilize the economy. The dollar has benefited in recent months from the view that the U.S. economy will be the first to recover given the government's proactive measures to revive the growth. That makes the U.S. dollar the best place to park investor cash amid the ongoing global uncertainty. "The data had fed into the trend" of the day, said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in New York. "If it had not fed into the trend, it would have been ignored." The euro fell to a session low of $1.2729, down 0.9 percent on the day. It last traded at $1.2735.

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