The dollar index (DXY00) on Tuesday rose slightly by +0.01%. Hawkish Fed comments from Fed Governor Bowman and Kansas City Fed President Schmid pushed T-note yields higher and supported the dollar. However, gains in the dollar were muted after the Conference Board’s U.S. Feb consumer confidence index unexpectedly declined.
Tuesday’s U.S. economic news was mixed for the dollar. On the positive side, the Jan capital goods new orders nondefense ex-aircraft and parts, a proxy for capital spending, rose +0.1% m/m, right on expectations. Also, the Dec S&P CoreLogic composite-20 home price index rose +6.13% y/y, stronger than expectations of +6.05% y/y and the largest increase in 13 months. On the negative side, the Conference Board’s U.S. Feb consumer confidence index unexpectedly fell -4.2 to 106.7, weaker than expectations of an increase to 115.0.
