By Sarah Turner and Kim Hjelmgaard, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar fell more on Tuesday after a strong housing report boosted stocks and commodities, reversing the flight from risky assets in the previous session.
The dollar index DXY -0.87% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, fell to 79.648, from 79.911 before the data and 80.374 in late North American trading on Monday.
The euro EURUSD +0.94% rose to $1.3122 from $1.2997.
The British pound GBPUSD +1.15% traded at $1.5674, up from $1.5497 Monday.
The dollar USDJPY -0.38% slipped to 77.80 Japanese yen, compared with ÂĄ78.03 Monday.
The dollar extended losses after the Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts jumped 9.3% in November to the highest annual rate since April 2010, much higher than analysts expected. Read about housing starts.
During the European session, Germany’s Ifo business-climate index for December unexpectedly climbed, and Spain’s borrowing costs dropped at an about of three- and six-month bonds as the government raised more than it had initially hoped.
“Another strong short-dated Spanish auction was the trigger/excuse for a squeeze higher,”said Elsa, Lignos, G-10 currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
The dollar had strengthened against most of its major rivals on Monday as investor attention refocused on Europe’s debt troubles. Read about dollar on Monday.
On Monday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and European Union finance ministers failed to offer much hope of more aggressive support for ailing euro-zone nations.
