2019.05.2116:13:00UTC+00Dollar Exhibits Strength

The U.S. dollar stayed firm against most major currencies on Tuesday and the dollar index rose to a four-week high, on safe haven appeal, as traders continued to weigh the ongoing trade war and its impact on the global economy.

Lingering uncertainty about Brexit, tensions in the Middle East and a downward revision in global growth forecast by The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also supported the dollar.

The dollar index, which advanced to 98.13, shed some gains subsequently and was hovering around 98.05, up 0.12% from previous close.

Against the euro, the dollar was up 0.06% at $1.1161.

The greenback gained about 0.2% against British Pound sterling, edging up to $1.2701.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar gained nearly 0.5% with a unit of dollar fetching 110.57 yen.

The dollar was up 0.35% against the Aussie and up 0.27% against Swiss franc, with the respective pairs trading at 0.6883 and 1.0113, respectively.

Against the loonie, the dollar lost about 0.16% with the USD-CAD pair trading at 1.3407.

In economic news, existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in the month of April, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday.

NAR said existing home sales dipped by 0.4% to an annual rate of 5.19 million in April after plunging by 4.9% to a rate of 5.21 million in March. Economists had expected existing home sales to jump by 2.7% to a rate of 5.35 million.

In its latest Economic Outlook, published Tuesday, OECD lowered global growth forecast, citing vulnerabilities stem from trade tensions, high policy uncertainty, risks in financial markets and a slowdown in China.

The biggest threat is the escalation of trade-restrictive measures, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurr?a said.

The agency forecast 3.2% growth for 2019 versus 3.3% estimated in March. The global growth outlook for 2020 was retained at 3.4%.

The OECD forecast the U.S. economic growth at 2.8% in 2019, and 2.3% in 2020. In March, the OECD had forecast 2.6% growth for this year and 2.2% in 2020.

The agency said the sharper slowdown than already seen in China would pose important risks to both global growth and trade prospects.

Eurozone consumer confidence rose more-than-expected in May to its highest level in seven months, after weakening in the previous month, flash data from the European Commission showed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Trends survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed that UK manufacturing orders hit its lowest level since October 2016.

On the Brexit front, British Finance Minister Philip Hammond warned today that those on the "populist right" pushing for the U.K. to leave the European Union without a deal would be doing deliberate damage to the British economy.