NEW YORK: A jump in US consumer confidence and a surge in home prices gave the dollar a boost Tuesday, erasing the euro's rebound of the past week.
At 2100 GMT, the dollar was at $1.2855, compared to $1.2931 late Monday.
The yen slipped, with the dollar pushing to 102.32 yen from 100.95 Monday and the euro gaining to 131.61 yen from 130.54.
The dollar earned early support from the release of the S&P/Case-Shiller report on March US housing prices, showing they were up 10.9 percent in over March 2012, the largest year-on-year increase since April 2006.
But the greenback took off when the Conference Board's US consumer conference index for May took a strong jump to its best level in five years, with confidence in the future surging after having sagged earlier this year following the government's fiscal tightening.
"Back-to-back monthly gains suggest that consumer confidence is on the mend and may be regaining the traction it lost due to the fiscal cliff, payroll tax hike and sequester," said Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators.
The British pound also fell against the dollar, to $1.5036 from $1.5099, while the dollar rose to 0.9777 Swiss francs from 0.9631.
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