Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the euro and the yen on Thursday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. data later in the day and as trading volumes became more and more thin ahead of the New Year holiday on Friday.
Heading into the final trading session of the year, trading volumes are expected to remain light as many traders already closed books, reducing liquidity in the market which could result in exaggerated moves.
EUR/USD was steady at 1.0927.
Markets shrugged off a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. National Association of Realtors showing that its pending home sales index inched down 0.9% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.5%.
Pending home sales in October rose by 0.4%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 0.2%.
The dollar had strengthened broadly after the Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 96.5 in December from 92.6 in November.
Investors were eyeing the release of the weekly U.S. jobless claims report, as well as data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area due later in the day.
USD/JPY was little changed at 120.44.
Investors also continued to focus on the oil market amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that crude oil inventories increased by 2.6 million barrels in the week ended December 25.
Market analysts' expected a crude-stock drop of 2.5 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply gain of 2.9 million barrels.
Crude oil futures for February delivery were at $36.68 in late Asian trading, not far from the 11-year low of $35.98 hit on December 22.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 98.31.