Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose modestly against its rivals Tuesday, underpinned by a steep fall in the pound on Brexit concerns and data showing a stumble in the U.K. services sector.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.17% to 96.02.
GBP/USD fell 0.64% to $1.2952 as the U.K. services PMI index fell to its lowest level since July 2016, raising concerns about the health of the economy with less than the two months to go until the U.K. departs the European Union. Losses in the pound against the greenback were exacerbated as fresh concerns of a no-deal Brexit rose to the fore.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday she will seek changes to the Irish backstop, but would stop short of seeking its removal from the withdrawal agreement, fuelling some concern she was wavering on her commitment to back the "Brady Amendment," which proposes to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements.
"The Brady Amendment," which was tabled by a senior Conservative lawmaker Graham Brady and aimed to renegotiate the Irish backstop, won the backing of U.K lawmakers by a slender margin of 16 votes last week.
The dollar was held back somewhat from weaker U.S. services data, despite analysts reaffirming the services sector remained robust.
The services side of the US economy is "still performing well as the index is still entrenched in expansionary territory and is in line with the average level seen since mid-2017," CIBC said in a note.
EUR/USD fell 0.22% to $1.1410 on mixed eurozone economic data showing a decline in retail sales but better-than-expected growth in the bloc's services sector.
USD/JPY rose 0.09% to Y109.98, while USD/CAD rose 0.18% to $1.3134. The oil-price-sensitive loonie was weighed down by falling oil prices, a day ahead petroleum data from the Energy Information Administration expected to show a build in U.S. crude inventories.