The Canadian dollar was sharply lower Tuesday morning as the greenback strengthened on the back of a strong reading on consumer confidence.
The loonie declined 0.46 of a cent to 92.13 cents US.
The U.S. Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 90.9 in July from 85.2 in the prior month. It's the highest level since October 2007.
Other data showed that U.S. home prices rose in May from a year earlier at the weakest pace in 15 months. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 9.3 per cent in May, down from 10.8 per cent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve started its two-day meeting on interest rates.
The Fed is expected to keep its key interest rate near zero for some time to come. But while markets have generally expected the Fed to move in mid-2015, economic performance has improved to a point where it is thought the central bank could move earlier.
Elsewhere on the economic front, on Wednesday traders will take in the latest economic growth readings from Canada and the U.S. That will be followed by a report Thursday on China's manufacturing industry that will give investors an update on the health of the world's second biggest economy.
And on Friday, the U.S. will release its monthly jobs data. Analysts estimate that the U.S. labour market added between 235,000 and 255,000 jobs in July.
On the commodity markets, the September crude contract in New York was down 88 cents to US$100.79 a barrel.
September copper eased two cents to US$3.23 a pound while August bullion gained $3.40 to US$1,306.70 an ounce.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.