The data, along with comments Friday from Federal Reserve chief Janet
Yellen that she expects to increase interest rates "at some point this
year", put upward pressure on the dollar.
In the afternoon the greenback was at ¥123.03 in Tokyo, against ¥123.09 in New York late on Tuesday. The dollar on Tuesday rose past ¥123.30 briefly, its highest since mid-2007.
"Whether it's durable goods, housing data or consumer confidence, US data are all above market expectations," Hiroichi Nishi, a manager at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.
"This leads to the view that the rate hike will come within this year."
On Wall Street the Dow tumbled 1.04%, the S&P 500 fell 1.03% and the Nasdaq lost 1.11%. The long-running saga over Greece's bailout reform continues to drag on confidence, with the country unable to reach an agreement with its creditors that will release cash to help it avoid a default.
With a June 5 repayment deadline for Athens, the two sides are still no closer to a deal that will unlock the last tranche of bailout money. There are fears that a Greek default could see the country tumbling out of the eurozone, spooking global investors.
The euro was at $1.0912 and ¥134.24 on Wednesday, compared with $1.0879 and ¥133.92 in US trade. But the single currency is still sharply down from $1.1149 and ¥134.54 last week, owing to the Greek worries.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery gained 60 cents to $58.63, while Brent crude for July rose 41c to $64.13 in afternoon trade. Gold fetched $1 188.46 compared with $1 195.35 late on Tuesday.
"Whether it's durable goods, housing data or consumer confidence, US data are all above market expectations," Hiroichi Nishi, a manager at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.
"This leads to the view that the rate hike will come within this year."
On Wall Street the Dow tumbled 1.04%, the S&P 500 fell 1.03% and the Nasdaq lost 1.11%. The long-running saga over Greece's bailout reform continues to drag on confidence, with the country unable to reach an agreement with its creditors that will release cash to help it avoid a default.
With a June 5 repayment deadline for Athens, the two sides are still no closer to a deal that will unlock the last tranche of bailout money. There are fears that a Greek default could see the country tumbling out of the eurozone, spooking global investors.
The euro was at $1.0912 and ¥134.24 on Wednesday, compared with $1.0879 and ¥133.92 in US trade. But the single currency is still sharply down from $1.1149 and ¥134.54 last week, owing to the Greek worries.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery gained 60 cents to $58.63, while Brent crude for July rose 41c to $64.13 in afternoon trade. Gold fetched $1 188.46 compared with $1 195.35 late on Tuesday.
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