Dollar Gains On Major Rivals, ECB Stimulus Expected In June

Washington (May 27)   The dollar showed modest strength against other major currencies on Tuesday, holding near its highest in three months versus the slumping euro.

Expectations that the European Central Bank will finally proceed with economic stimulus in June have dented the euro.

ECB President Mario Draghi hinted Monday that policy makers will act on June 5th to counter low inflation.

"Our responsibility is nonetheless to be alert to the risks to this scenario that might emerge and prepared for action if they do," he said in Portugal .

The dollar edged up to USD1.3615 from near USD1.37 versus the euro as traders weighed a slew of US economic data.

Gradual gains took the dollar back above Y102 versus the yen, away from a 4-month low.

The buck also gained a bit of ground versus the sterling, rising to USD1.6780 .

Consumer confidence in the US improved in line with economist estimates in the month of May, the Conference Board revealed in a report on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 83.0 in May from a downwardly revised 81.7 in April.

Economists had been expecting the index to edge up to 83.0 from the 82.3 originally reported for the previous month.

New orders for US manufactured durable goods unexpectedly saw continued growth in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, with orders rising for the third consecutive month.

The report said durable goods orders increased by 0.8% in April after surging up by an upwardly revised 3.6% in March.