Dollar perks up in Asia

The dollar edged broadly higher on Tuesday, with the yen on the backfoot after upbeat US data suggested the world's biggest economy will accelerate in 2011. The Australian dollar came under pressure with traders citing worries about the massive floods in the country's north-east, which has severed roads and closed ports, curtailing production of coal, Australia's top export.
The euro eased slightly after last week's short-covering surge, with some traders citing talk of euro-selling by investors related to eurozone bond redemptions. Overall, the dollar seems likely to stay supported in the near term, said Todd Elmer, currency strategist with Citi in Singapore. The euro eased around 0.1 percent from late US trading on Monday to $1.3353.
The euro dipped as low as $1.3328 earlier on Tuesday, with some traders citing talk of possible euro-selling flows related to bond redemptions and coupon payments of eurozone debt. "There is lots of talk about German bond redemptions today," said a trader for a European bank in Singapore. The dollar rose 0.5 percent to 82.14 yen, getting a lift as traders took aim at stop-loss bids around 82.20 yen, traders said. The greenback has pulled up from an eight-week low of 80.93 yen hit on trading platform EBS on Monday.
The greenback perked up after data showed US manufacturing grew at its fastest clip in seven months in December, and construction spending hit a five-month high in November. With mounting evidence the US recovery will gather steam this year, some analysts expect the dollar to gain some traction in the months ahead. The upbeat view helped drive US stocks to fresh two-year highs on Monday.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of major currencies, edged up 0.2 percent to 79.307. The Australian dollar fell 0.7 percent to $1.0096, retreating from a 28-year peak around $1.0257 set on Friday. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar rose 0.6 percent to 0.9390, off an all-time low just above 0.9300 set last Friday.