The U.S. dollar traded weak against most of its major counterparts on Tuesday with traders awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due on Wednesday.
The Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are also set to announce their interest-rate decisions this week.
Data from the Commerce Department showed housing starts plunged by 11.3% to an annual rate of 1.283 million in August after jumping by 2% to a revised rate of 1.447 million in July. Economists had expected housing starts to decrease to an annual rate of 1.440 million from the 1.452 million originally reported for the previous month.
Another report from the Commerce Department said building permits surged by 6.9% to an annual rate of 1.543 million in August after inching up by 0.1% to a revised rate of 1.443 million in July.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to rise to an annual rate of 1.445 million from the 1.442 million originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar index, which dropped to 104.82 in early New York session, recovered gradually to 105.15, but still remained in negative territory, netting a marginal loss.
Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0679 after having weakened to 1.0720 a dollar earlier in the day. The dollar is trading at 1.2391 against Pound Sterling, down marginally from the previous close.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is up, fetching 147.86 yen a unit. The dollar is weak against the Aussie at 0.6454, and up marginally against Swiss franc at CHF 0.8979.
Against the Loonie, the dollar weakened to C$1.3497 after data showed Canadian consumer price index rose 4% year-over-year in August, following a 3.3% increase in July. The dollar regained some lost ground as the day progressed and is currently at C$1.3445, still down 0.3% from the previous close.
