Investing.com - The dollar fell to session lows against the yen on Tuesday after data showed that U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated in February, while a sharp decline in China’s yuan also bolstered safe haven demand.
Dollar falls to session lows vs. yen
USD/JPY hit 102.01, the lowest since February 20 and was last down 0.44% to 102.04.
The pair was likely to find support at 101.65, the low of February 20 and resistance at 102.61, the session high.
The dollar extended losses after the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index declined to 78.1 in February, down from 79.4 in January, amid concerns over the short-term outlook for business conditions, jobs, and earnings.
Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 80.0.
The present situation index rose to its highest level in almost six years, but the expectations index declined, indicating that while consumers believe the economy has improved they do not foresee further considerable improvement in the coming months.
Earlier Tuesday, Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller reported that its house price index rose 13.4% in December from a year earlier, the best December reading in eight years and slightly ahead of forecasts for a 13.3% gain.
On a month-over-month basis, house prices rose 0.8%, down slightly from 0.9% in November, indicating that the recovery in the housing sector may be slowing.
Demand for the safe haven yen continued to be underpinned as China’s yuan posted the largest one-day decline in three years on Tuesday, amid speculation that the country’s central bank had intervened to add volatility to the currency ahead of possible economic reforms.
Elsewhere, the euro slipped lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD dipping 0.07% to 1.3725. The pair rose to session highs of 1.3766 earlier.
The European Commission revised up its growth forecast for the euro zone to 1.2% this year, up from 1.1% in November.
However, the EC also cut its inflation forecast for 2014 to 1% from 1.5% in November and warned that debt levels in several countries will continue to climb.
Earlier Tuesday, official data confirmed that Germany’s economy grew 0.4% in the fourth quarter and expanded 1.3% on a year-over-year basis as strong overseas demand bolstered exports.
The common currency was also lower against the yen. EUR/JPY hit lows of 140.17 and was last down 0.38% to 140.25
Dollar falls to session lows vs. yenThe pair was likely to find support at 101.65, the low of February 20 and resistance at 102.61, the session high.
The dollar extended losses after the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index declined to 78.1 in February, down from 79.4 in January, amid concerns over the short-term outlook for business conditions, jobs, and earnings.
Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 80.0.
The present situation index rose to its highest level in almost six years, but the expectations index declined, indicating that while consumers believe the economy has improved they do not foresee further considerable improvement in the coming months.
Earlier Tuesday, Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller reported that its house price index rose 13.4% in December from a year earlier, the best December reading in eight years and slightly ahead of forecasts for a 13.3% gain.
On a month-over-month basis, house prices rose 0.8%, down slightly from 0.9% in November, indicating that the recovery in the housing sector may be slowing.
Demand for the safe haven yen continued to be underpinned as China’s yuan posted the largest one-day decline in three years on Tuesday, amid speculation that the country’s central bank had intervened to add volatility to the currency ahead of possible economic reforms.
Elsewhere, the euro slipped lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD dipping 0.07% to 1.3725. The pair rose to session highs of 1.3766 earlier.
The European Commission revised up its growth forecast for the euro zone to 1.2% this year, up from 1.1% in November.
However, the EC also cut its inflation forecast for 2014 to 1% from 1.5% in November and warned that debt levels in several countries will continue to climb.
Earlier Tuesday, official data confirmed that Germany’s economy grew 0.4% in the fourth quarter and expanded 1.3% on a year-over-year basis as strong overseas demand bolstered exports.
The common currency was also lower against the yen. EUR/JPY hit lows of 140.17 and was last down 0.38% to 140.25
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