Forex Market Update

A surprise overnight policy-rate hike by the Central Bank of Russia did little to stanch the ruble’s steep losses against the dollar in Tuesday trading.
 The dollar USDJPY, +0.46%  traded at ¥116.58, from ¥117.73 late Monday in New York.

The euro EURJPY, +0.30% rose against the dollar after U.S. housing starts data for November missed the expectations of economists polled by MarketWatch, and a gauge of eurozone business activity improved modestly in December.

The shared currency EURUSD, -0.18%  was trading at $1.25, compared to $1.24 Monday.

The dollar gained against the krone USDNOK, +1.87% earlier in the session, only to surrender its gains and trade flat around 7.48 krone per dollar Tuesday afternoon.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.12%  , a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six trade-weighted currencies, was down 0.64% to 87.8940.

The pound GBPUSD, -0.15%  climbed to $1.575, up from $1.56 on Monday, after data showed U.K. inflation fell to a 12-year low in November.