The U.S. dollar firmed up in late trading on Tuesday as tension rose in the market and investors looked for safe-haven assets.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.51 percent to 101.8678 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.0971 U.S. dollars from 1.1045 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was down to 1.2406 U.S. dollars from 1.2482 dollars in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar bought 133.6010 Japanese yen, lower than 134.29 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.8920 Swiss franc from 0.8880 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.3643 Canadian dollars from 1.3539 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar rose to 10.3205 Swedish Krona from 10.2489 Swedish Krona.
The First Republic Bank, which has been closely followed after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, reported late Monday that its deposits shrank by 40.8 percent in the first quarter, reigniting concerns about the banking industry.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that the U.S. consumer confidence index decreased to 101.3 in April, down from a revised reading of 104.0 in March.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that U.S. new home sales increased to 683,000 in March. The prior reading has been revised from 640,000 to 623,000.
Meanwhile, the S&P Dow Jones Indices reported that the U.S. 20-city adjusted home price index increased 0.1 percent in February month on month, in comparison with a dip of 0.4 percent in January and a market expectation of a 0.3 percent decline.
The two-year U.S. Treasury note yield rate lost 11.5 basis points to 3.976 percent on Tuesday, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield rate fell by 9.3 basis points to 3.402 percent.
“Treasury yields are moving lower, but the American currency is gaining ground as demand for safe-haven assets rises,” Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire, said on Tuesday. ■
