Early trade in New York: dollar rises against basket of currencies

The dollar rose to a six-day high against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday, extending a rebound from a three-year low last week, as investors shrugged off worries about the U.S budget deficit and focused on large US government debt auctions this week.
The US Treasury is preparing to sell more than $250 billion worth of new debt this week, which analysts said would be a key gauge of international investors' appetite for US assets. The dollar has sold off in recent months on worries that the Trump administration's recently passed tax cuts and plans for large government spending would balloon the deficit.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.61 percent at 89.646. The dollar was up 0.52 percent against the Japanese yen and the euro slipped 0.51 percent against the greenback.
"I think, right now, what we are seeing is just a little bit of profit-taking (in other currencies), a little bit of bargain-hunting," said Omer Esiner, chief market strategist with Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. The dollar has been in a steep decline since the start of 2017, with any positive impetus from rising US interest rates offset by a barrage of bearish factors in recent months, including worries about the deficit, concerns the US government is pursuing a weak dollar strategy, and moves by other central banks to tighten monetary policy.
Sterling rebounded against the euro after a media report said the European Parliament would call for giving Britain "privileged" single-market access. Bitcoin hit more than a three-week high on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange and was up 2.5 percent at $11,451.91.