The U.S. dollar was weak against most of its peers on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session.
Stricter restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections and the Trump administration's refusal to coordinate with Joe Biden's transition team weighed on the currency.
According to Johns Hopkins University, new coronavirus cases were up by over 160,000 on Monday and global Covid-19 cases topped 55 million today.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida commented on Monday that more fiscal and monetary supports would be needed to ensure a strong recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
After reporting a sharp increase in U.S. retail sales in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing retail sales rose by less than expected in the month of October. The report said retail sales rose by 0.3% in October after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.6% in September.
A report from the Labor Department said import prices slipped by 0.1% in October after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2% in September. Meanwhile, the report said export prices crept up by 0.2% in October after climbing by 0.6% in September. Export prices were expected to rise by 0.3%.
Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly jumped to another new record high in the month of November, the National Association of Home Builders revealed in a report released today. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 90 in November from 85 in October. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
The dollar index slipped to a low of 92.27 earlier in the day, and despite recovering to 92.44, was still down in negative territory with a loss of nearly 0.25%.
The Euro was up marginally, fetching $1.1864 a unit. Earlier in the day, the Euro had firmed up to $1.1895.
The Sterling was stronger by over 0.5% with the dollar weakening to $1.3254.
The Yen firmed up to 104.07, and despite paring some gains subsequently, was up nearly 0.4% at 104.18 a dollar.
The Aussie was weak against the dollar, with the AUD-USD pair quoting at 0.7303, compared to 0.7320 Monday evening.
The Swiss franc was firmer at 0.9112 a dollar, gaining from 0.9128. The Loonie weakened to 1.3100 a dollar, falling from 1.3074.
In Canadian economic news, housing starts rose 3% over a month earlier to 214,875 units in October of 2020, missing market expectations of 222,000 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
According to data released by Statistics Canada, wholesale sales in the country increased 0.9% over a month earlier in September, following a 0.3% increase in August.
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