2017.11.2114:51:00UTC+00Dollar Little Changed After Early Gains Erode

The dollar got off to a positive start against its major rivals Tuesday, but has since pared its early gains and is now nearly flat on the day. Economic data remained on the light side this morning and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday seems to have some investors away from their desks.

Traders are also looking forward to the release of the minutes from the most recent policy meetings of both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank later this week.

Existing home sales in the U.S. jumped by much more than anticipated in the month of October, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday. The report said existing home sales surged up by 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 5.48 million in October from a downwardly revised 5.37 million in September.

Economists had expected existing home sales to climb by 0.7 percent to a rate of 5.43 million from the 5.39 million originally reported for the previous month.

Talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, the liberal Free Democrats and Greens collapsed over the weekend. The possibility of snap elections is starting to seem likely, after Merkel has stated she would prefer a new election to ruling with a minority.

The dollar rose to an early high of $1.1712 against the Euro Tuesday, but has since retreated to around $1.1740.

The buck climbed to a high of $1.3205 against the pound sterling Tuesday morning, but has since pulled back to around $1.3240.

The UK budget deficit increased in October due to higher debt costs linked to rising prices, the Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday. Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, increased by GBP 0.5 billion from the previous year to GBP 8 billion in October. The deficit was forecast to narrow to GBP 7.1 billion.

UK total orders grew the most since 1988 and export order books reached the joint highest level in more than 20 years in November, the latest monthly Industrial Trends survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed Tuesday.

A balance of +17 percent said total order book remained above normal in November, the highest since August 1988. The expected balance was +3 percent.

The greenback reached an early high of Y112.702 against the Japanese Yen this morning, but has since eased back to around Y112.435.

Japan's all industry activity decreased at a faster-than-expected pace in September, after rebounding in the previous month, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Tuesday. The all industry activity index dropped 0.5 percent month-over-month in September, reversing a 0.2 percent rise in August. Economists had expected a 0.4 percent fall for the month.