The US dollar moved back and forth in choppy pre-holiday trading on Friday, as investors weighed a mixed batch of US economic data.
Just before 10pm GMT, the euro bought US$1.1878 against US$1.1870 late Thursday in New York. The greenback was trading at ?116.18 on Friday, from ?116.77 the previous day.
Traders said volume was very thin, with many players already gone for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The US Commerce Department reported that orders for US-made durable goods surged 4.4 percent last month to a record-high level of US$223 billion, pushed up by aircraft deals.
The rise last month was the biggest since May. Economists had expected an increase of just 1.1 percent. The US Commerce Department revised down the October figure to 3.0 percent.
Consumer confidence in the US economy as measured by the University of Michigan rose to 91.5 points this month from 81.6 last month, beating market expectations of a reading of 89 points.
By contrast sales of new homes in the US slumped 11.3 percent last month to signal a long-awaited property market slowdown, the Commerce Department said.
The sales figure of 1.245 million was less than the 1.3 million expected by analysts and well down from the revised 1.404 million seen in October, when new home sales posted a record rise.
Economists have long been predicting a cooling to the red-hot US property market. But other indicators have sent conflicting signals.
On Tuesday, the US Commerce Department said new construction of US homes rose by a robust 5.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.123 million.
"The [property] sector is coming back to earth. The only question is will the parachute open or will there be a very hard landing?" said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.
"We shall see. This is just another thing for [incoming Fed chairman Ben] Bernanke to worry about," he said.
The US dollar had dropped overnight after Richmond Federal Reserve Bank head Jeffrey Lacker suggested the US central bank could be close to the end of its rate-hiking cycle.
In comments made on Thursday, Lacker said the Fed would need to be "alert for movements in economic fundamentals" and may need to keep adjusting rates even if inflation is low and growth is on track.
However, he said it was "reasonable" to interpret that the Fed is "far closer" to ending its rate cycle than before.
Tame US inflation data on Thursday had also cast doubt on the possibility of further rate hikes, removing one of the props that has supported the dollar for much of the year.
The Fed last week lifted its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 4.25 percent, but omitted to say in its accompanying statement that monetary policy remained "accommodative". The Fed's rate-setting body meets next on Jan. 31.
"On balance, the macro outlook continues to point to further rate hikes by the Fed," said Charmaine Buskas, an analyst following currency markets at Moody's Economy.com.
"This will keep the greenback well supported through the first quarter, and even through the first half of 2006 as investors remain positive on US assets," she said.
But Buskas said the "structural pox" of massive US trade and investment deficits would remain a problem for the greenback.
"We expect the second half of 2006 to mark the beginning of an orderly trend depreciation in the dollar," she said.
Higher US interest rates relative to the 12-nation eurozone and Japan drove the dollar to two-year highs this year.
As of late Friday, the dollar was up nearly 13 percent against the euro for the 12 months and up nearly 14 percent against the yen, according to data from NetDania.com.
The dollar was changing hands at 1.3116 Swiss francs at 10pm GMT, from SF1.3121 on Thursday.
The pound was being traded at US$1.7342, from US$1.7375.
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