Dollar mixed vs. rivals as markets eye Fed meeting

The U.S. dollar was mixed against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as investors' attention turned to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy-setting meeting, amig ongoing uncertainty over the future of the central bank's monetary stimulus program. 

During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.10% to 1.3275. 

Markets were jittery as a string of recent U.S. economic reports fuelled uncertainty over whether the central bank will soon begin to scale back its bond-buying program. 

On Monday, industry data showed that U.S. pending home sales fell 0.4% in June, less than the expected 1% decline, after a 5.8% rise the previous month. 

The euro found support after data showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose more-than-expected in July, ticking up to 7.0 from a reading of 6.8 the previous month. 

Analysts had expected the index to rise to 6.9 this month. 

A separate report showed that Spain's gross domestic product contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter, in line with expectations, following a 0.5% contraction in the previous quarter. 

The greenback was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD edging up 0.02% to 1.5342. 

Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen, with USD/JPYadding 0.21% to trade at 98.16, but lower against the Swiss franc, withUSD/CHF slipping 0.13% to 0.9299. 

In Japan, preliminary data on Tuesday showed that industrial production fell more-than-expected last month, dropping 3.3% after a 1.9% increase in May. 

Analysts had expected industrial production to decline 1.8% in June. 

A separate report showed that household spending in Japan fell at an annualized rate of 0.4% in June, confounding expectations for a 1% rise, following a 1.6% decline the previous month. 

The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD edging up 0.17% to 1.0283,AUD/USD tumbling 1.53% to 0.9065 and NZD/USD retreating 0.54% to 0.7991. 

The Aussie came under pressure after official data showed that building approvals in Australia dropped 6.9% in June, confounding expectations for a 2.3% rise, after a 4.3% decline the previous month. 

In addition, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said second-quarter inflation data suggests that there is still room to lower interest rates if necessary and that he wouldn't be surprised if the currency dropped further. 

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.04% to 81.82. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Composite-20 house price index, followed by the Conference Board's report on consumer confidence.