WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar stayed sideways against most major currencies on Wednesday, amid news about the coronavirus outbreak and the latest batch of economic data from across the globe. Traders were also awaiting the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement, due on Thursday.
The dollar index, which declined to 97.44 early on in the session, climbed to a high of 97.69 by mid morning, before retreating and staying sluggish as the session progressed. The index was last seen at 97.50, down marginally from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar was down marginally at $1.1092.
The Pound Sterling was up notably with a unit of sterling fetching $1.3137, compared to $1.3049 on Tuesday. According to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry, optimism among the UK manufacturers' improved significantly in the three months to January to its highest level in nearly six years.
The survey balance indicating manufacturers' optimism jumped to +23 in the three months to January from -44 in the October quarter, the CBI survey showed. This was the strongest reading since April 2014.
The latest surge in optimism was also the biggest swing on record in the measure in a single quarter since the CBI survey began in 1958.
The dollar was flat against the Japanese yen, with the dollar fetching 109.87 yen, after moving between 109.82 and 110.09.
Against the Aussie, the dollar was up slightly, with the Aussie-Dollar pair at 0.6843.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar was down at 0.9860, while against the loonie, it was up 0.5% at 1.3135.
According to a report from Statistics Canada, the consumer price index rose 2.2% year-on-year in December, matching the increase in November. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, inflation rose 0.4% in the month.
The Bank of Canada maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.75%, as expected.
In U.S. economic news, a report from the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of December.
NAR said existing home sales spiked by 3.6% to an annual rate of 5.54 million in December after tumbling by 1.7% to a rate of 5.35 million in November. Economists had expected existing home sales to jump by 1.2% to an annual rate of 5.43 million.
With the much bigger than expected monthly increase, existing home sales in December were up by 10.8% compared to the same month a year ago.
On a full-year basis, NAR said total existing home sales came in at 5.34 million in 2019, unchanged from the previous year.
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