The dollar rallied against the majority of its most-traded counterparts as Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein said the central bank may make a decision in September about tapering monetary stimulus.
The U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen and the euro after the publication of the index of consumer sentiment Michigansogo University / Reuters, the value of which turned out better than expected. According to the data, the final index of consumer sentiment rose in June to 84.1. Now the index is just below the nearly six-year high 84.5 reached in late May.
The U.S. dollar, despite the previously published data, which showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago region slowed sharply in June. Adjusted for seasonal variations Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of Chicago in June fell to 51.6 against 58.7 in the previous month. The index value was below the consensus estimate. A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity.
European currency earlier rose against the dollar after the EU leaders at their summit in Brussels to agree on the seven-year budget of the Community. All 27 EU member states supported the document, which has yet to be definitively approve the European Parliament.
Also boosted the euro helped the data for Germany, which showed that up to May, German retail sales were better than expected, as consumers returned to stores after being bypassed by their side because of the cold and rainy weather. According to the report, retail sales in May rose 0.8% in April, after three consecutive months of decline, exceeding economists' forecasts at 0.3%.
Value of the pound fell against the dollar, as the data from the Nationwide Agency showed that in June house prices in Britain rose again, showing at the same time increasing the fastest pace in more than two and a half years as mortgages have become more accessible and less expensive. According to the report, the monthly house price index rose in June by 0.3%, while the annual growth rate of 1.9%, which was the sharpest increase since September 2010. These achievements were below the 0.4% monthly rise and a 2.1% year-on-year increase that economists expected.
The Australian dollar fell and almost ready to fix your the biggest quarterly decline since 2008, ahead of a meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which will take place on July 2. At the June meeting, the central bank left interest rates unchanged at 2.75%, confirming that "the current state of monetary policy continues to meet the situation." It has since been published many weak data, and analysts now expect the RBA will lower the interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5%, and will also retain a bias towards further easing.