Investing.com - The dollar held gains against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after the release of upbeat U.S. consumer sentiment data added to hopes for a potential U.S. rate hike later this year.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.13% at 120.09.
The Conference Board reported said its index of consumer confidence rose to an eight-year high of 103.0 this month from a reading of 101.3 in August, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 101.5. Analysts expected the index to fall to 96.1 in September.
The dollar had weakened earlier amid uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will raise short term interest rates this year following mixed messages from central bank policymakers.
New York Fed President William Dudley and San Francisco Fed head John Williams indicated support for a rate hike in 2015 in separate speeches on Monday, but Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said rates should remain on hold until mid-2016.
The remarks came after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the bank was still on track for a rate hike before the years end.
The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.23% to 1.1215.
The single currency came under pressure after data showed that Germany's annual rate of inflation slowed to zero in September, worse than forecasts of 0.1%.
The German consumer price index fell 0.2% from a month earlier, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.1%.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD edging down 0.16% at 1.5153, and was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF slipping 0.13% to 0.9725.
Data earlier showed that U.K. net lending to individuals rose to £4.3 billion last month from £4.0 billion in July, whose figure was upwardly revised from an initially estimated £3.9 billion. Analysts had expected net lending to individuals to rise to £4.1 billion in August.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained higher, with AUD/USD up 0.36% to 0.7015 and with NZD/USD gaining 0.97% to 0.6390.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.13% to trade at 1.3377, after hitting 11-year highs of 1.3432 earlier in the session.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% at 96.25.