Credit: Forexpros - The U.S. dollar was mixed against most of its major counterparts on Tuesday, surrendering earlier gains as risk sentiment was boosted after ratings agency Fitch affirmed its U.S. AAA sovereign debt rating, while markets awaited a the results of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.29% to hit 1.4401.
The single currency came under pressure as weaker-than-expected growth data out of Germany and the wider euro zone added to fears over the region's growth prospects ahead of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy later in the day.
But the greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.18% to hit 1.6421.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said earlier that the rate of consumer price inflation in the U.K. accelerated to 4.4% in July from 4.2% in June. Analysts had expected U.K. consumer price inflation to rise by 4.3%.
Meanwhile, the greenback was down against the yen but up against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging 0.17% lower to hit 76.71, while USD/CHF jumped 0.6% to hit 0.7892.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the risk-sensitive Australian and Canadian dollars, but down against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/USD dropping 0.22% to hit 1.0482, USD/CAD gaining 0.2% to hit 0.9818, while NZD/USD advanced 0.33% to hit 0.8355.
The Aussie was weighed after the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's August 2 meeting showed that policy makers extended a pause on interest rates due to global growth concerns.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.17% to hit 74.05.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that U.S. industrial production rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in July, above expectations for a 0.5% increase.
Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau said that the number of building permits issued in the U.S. fell 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted 0.60 million in July, while U.S. housing starts fell 1.5% to hit a seasonally adjusted 0.60 million.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
