Investing.com - The dollar traded mixed against most major currencies on Tuesday, buoyed by upbeat U.S. housing and consumer confidence data, though escalating Iraqi violence capped the greenback's advance, weakening it against its peers at times.
In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was up 0.01% at 1.3604.
The dollar firmed earlier on the coattails of upbeat U.S. data.
New home sales rose to a six-year high, surging 18.6% in May to an annual rate of 504,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. May's figure was the highest level since May 2008 and the largest monthly increase since January 1992.
Analysts were expecting new home sales to rise 1.6% to 440,000 units.
The dollar also saw demand after the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index jumped to 85.2 in June from 82.0 last month. It was the highest reading since January 2008.
Analysts were expecting a reading of 83.5.
The numbers kept market expectations firm for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down its monthly bond-buying program this year and begin hiking interest rates in 2015.
Fed stimulus programs such as monthly bond purchases weaken the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates, which sends investors to assets like stocks in hopes lower borrowing costs will spur investment and hiring.
Meanwhile in Europe, investors took in stride data revealing that the German Ifo business climate index fell to a six-month low of 109.7 this month from 110.4 in May, missing estimates for a 110.3 reading.
The euro shrugged off the data on sentiments geopolitical concerns have businesses worried more than structural issues in the German economy.
"Assessments of the current business situation remained good, but companies were less optimistic about future business developments. The German economy fears the potential impact of the crises in Ukraine and Iraq," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said.
Sinn added that although the export outlook for manufacturing had "clouded over considerably, the majority of manufacturers remain optimistic."
The manufacturing component of the index fell to 15.7 from 19.0 in May, but the construction, wholesaling and retail components all improved.
Later in the session, geopolitical concerns watered down the dollar's earlier gains, sending investors to safe-haven assets like gold, which tends to trade inversely with the greenback.
Reports that Syrian warplanes hit targets in western Iraq earlier Tuesday in an effort to join Iran and support the embattled Baghdad government sent gold prices climbing due to safe-haven demand, as fears began to grow the conflict will increase in duration and complexity, especially if Washington gets more involved.
Gold often sees safe-harbor demand among investors worried over geopolitical issues.
The dollar was flat against the yen, with USD/JPY unchanged at 101.93, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.03% at 0.8940.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.26% at 1.6984.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.10% at 1.0744, AUD/USD down 0.53% at 0.9374 and NZD/USD down 0.34% at 0.8682.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.07% at 80.40.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to publish data on durable goods orders, as well as revised data on first quarter growth.