Dollar ends little changed ahead of retail sales and FOMC minutes

The greenback pared its earlier gains and retreated in New York. Dollar ended the day flat against majority of its peers on Tuesday as investor remains cautious ahead of U.S. retail sales and FOMC minutes released on Wednesday for clues on pace of the coming rate hike from the Federal Reserve.  
  
Reuters reported U.S. homebuilding fell sharply in July, weighed down by higher mortgage rates and prices for materials, suggesting that the housing market could contract further in the third quarter.    
Housing starts plunged 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.446 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Data for June was revised slightly higher to a rate of 1.599 million units from the previously reported 1.559 million units.  
  
Versus the Japanese yen, dollar found renewed buying at 132.96 at Asian open and rallied in European trading on cross-selling of jpy and hit session highs at 134.67 at New York open before retreating to 134.17on profit-taking.  
  
The single currency met renewed selling at 1.0169 in Asian morning and fell to a near 2-week trough at 1.0123 ahead of New York open due partly to usd's rebound together with cross-selling of euro especially vs sterling. Euro then erased its losses and rallied to an intra-day high at 1.0194 in New York morning before stabilising.  
  
The British pound traded sideways in Asia before briefly edging down to an 8-day bottom at 1.2008 in early European morning. The pair then jumped at New York open in tandem with euro to an intra-day high at 1.2118 in New York morning.  
  
Data to be released on Wednesday:  
  
New Zealand PPI input, PPI output, RBNZ interest rate decision, Japan machinery orders, exports, imports, trade balance, Australia Westpac leading index, wage price index, U.K. CPI, RPI, PPI input prices, PPI output prices, EU employment, GDP, U.S. MBA mortgage application, retail sales and business inventories.