US dollar extends gains amid economic data

NEW YORK - The US dollar index increased against other major currencies in late trading on Wednesday as investors digested a batch of economic data.

US new orders for manufactured durable goods in May decreased 1.4 billion US dollars, or 0.6 percent, to 248.8 billion dollars, in line with market estimates, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

In a separate report, the department said the international trade deficit in goods came in at 64.8 billion dollars in May, down 2.5 billion dollars from the April reading.

Meanwhile, the Pending Home Sales Index decreased 0.5 percent to 105.9 in May from 106.4 in April, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.64 percent at 95.278 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1557 dollars from 1.1647 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3129 dollars from 1.3227 US dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar dipped to 0.7353 dollar from 0.7391 dollar.

The US dollar bought 110.20 Japanese yen, higher than 110.08 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar increased to 0.9969 Swiss franc from 0.9912 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.3311 Canadian dollars from 1.3308 Canadian dollars.