2019.11.1220:38:00UTC+00Dollar Edges Up Against Most Major Currencies

The U.S. dollar held above the flat line right through the session on Tuesday. The focus was on President Donald Trump's speech at The Economic Club of New York.

The dollar index opened flat at 98.21 and edged higher gradually to 98.42 a little before noon, and spent the rest of the day moving around 98.30.

Trump's speech provided no significant details on the state of trade talks between the U.S. and China. The President spent the bulk of his remarks touting the strength of the U.S. economy, crediting his policies cutting taxes and regulation for the strong growth seen in recent years.

Trump attacked the Federal Reserve and claimed the economy and the markets would be even stronger if the central bank would take his advice and slash interest rates further.

"But we all make mistakes, don't we?" Trump said in an apparent reference to his decision to nominate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Trump also briefly discussed the trade talks with China, claiming the Chinese are "dying to make a deal" and an agreement is "close."

The president said a significant phase one trade deal with China "could happen soon" but stressed that he would only accept an agreement that is good for U.S. companies and workers.

Trump later denied that his trade war with China is hurting industry or causing uncertainty and threatened further increases in tariffs if a deal is not reached.

Against the euro, the dollar strengthened to 1.1011, gaining 0.22%.

The Pound Sterling was down slightly against the dollar with a unit of sterling fetching $1.2848, compared to Monday's close of $1.2853.

The UK labor market remained weak in the third quarter as employment and vacancies declined notably ahead of general election.

The employment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 76% in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday. The ILO unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% in the third quarter from 3.9% in the preceding period.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was slightly weak at 108.98 yen.

The Aussie shed ground against the dollar. The Aussie-Dollar pair was last seen hovering around 0.6840.

The loonie and Swiss franc were also weak against the greenback, with the respective pairs quoting at 1.3239 and 0.9929, respectively.