Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence improved to a seven-month peak in August, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a U.S. interest rate hike this year, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence jumped to 101.5 this month from a reading of 91.0 in July, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 90.9. Analysts expected the index to rise to 93.4 in August.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1472 from around 1.1463 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5760 from 1.5759 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.64 from 119.66 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.20, compared to 94.28 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 2.1%, the S&P 500 tacked on 2.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 3%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,140.40 a troy ounce, compared to $1,141.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $39.29 a barrel from $39.34 earlier.