Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after the release of upbeat U.S. consumer confidence data and a mixed report on U.S. durable goods orders.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 92.4 this month, the highest since October 2007, from a reading of 90.3 in July, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported 90.9.
Analysts expected the index to decline to 89.0 in August.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders surged by 22.6% last month, blowing past expectations for an increase of 7.5%.
Orders for durable goods in June were revised up to a 2.7% gain from a previously reported increase of 1.7%.
Core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, eased down by 0.8% in July, missing forecasts for a 0.5% gain. Core durable goods orders rose by 3% in June.
EUR/USD edged up 0.08% to 1.3202.
Investors remained cautious as Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, later Tuesday amid growing tensions in the region.
On Monday, Ukraine said an armored column including 10 tanks entered from Russia as the government in Moscow unveiled plans to send a second convoy with humanitarian aid.
The pound held steady, near five-month lows with GBP/USD at 1.6584.
Industry data showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose by £42,800 last month, less than the expected increase of £44,200, after a revised £43,200 rise in June.
The dollar was edged lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.09% to 103.96, and little changed against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9156.
Meanwhile, AUD/USD rose 0.23% to 0.9320 and NZD/USD eased 0.07% to 0.8335, while USD/CAD fell 0.20% to 1.0962.
Official data earlier showed that New Zealand's trade balance swung into a deficit of NZ$692 million in July, from a surplus of NZ$247 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade balance to swing into a deficit of NZ$475 million last month.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was steady at 82.55, close to Monday's 11-month high of 82.69.