The dollar briefly slipped against the euro Tuesday in choppy trading after a report showed U.S. consumer confidence rose in November. The euro [EUR= 1.496 -0.0004 (-0.03%) ] rose as high as $1.4970 following the data, from about $1.4952 just before. But it came back to slightly down on the day. For most of the year, the dollar, which is typically viewed as a safe haven, tends to fall on upbeat economic data. The dollar fell to a six-week low against the yen [JPY= 88.45 -0.52 (-0.58%) ] after data showed the U.S. economy in the third quarter grew at a slower pace than previously thought. That report slightly weighed on the market's appetite for risk, which boosted the yen and reduced appetite for higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars. According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy grew 2.8 percent, lower than the government's first estimate of a 3.5 percent growth rate a month ago. The figure was also slightly lower than market forecasts. "This number is slightly negative for risk appetite because of the downgrade in the personal consumption number. But overall, this is an old number and it should have limited impact going forward," said Jacob Oubina, senior currency strategist at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. Further adding to the negative risk sentiment was a weaker-than-expected report on U.S. home prices in September, which rose for a fifth straight month, but the rate of appreciation was slower. Trading volumes were thin, with major currency pairs confined to their recent ranges ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The euro was helped by a bigger-than-expected rise in the German Ifo November business climate index to 93.9, a level not seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year, lifting optimism that Germany's recovery can gain momentum. Investors remained concerned about stricken German state-backed lender WestLB, which faced a down-to-the-wire search for funds to help unload toxic assets as its majority owners balked at more support. "Concerns about German banks weighed on the euro at the start of the session, but the firmer-than-expected Ifo has probably prevented a more intensive sell-off," said Roberto Mialich, FX strategist at Unicredit in Milan. "Market activity is tight before the Thanksgiving holiday and the euro would have to break above $1.50 and then $1.55, or break below $1.48 and $1.4765, to gain more momentum," he said. Bank Concerns The dollar and yen gained against riskier currencies on worries about the global banking system after a report on Monday by U.S. ratings firm Standard and Poor's raised concerns about the health of some major banks. "Rallies on risk assets are showing diminishing returns, and major currencies are looking stretched against the dollar," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Recent trends have seen investors opting to buy the dollar and the yen — seen as safe havens — against higher-yielding currencies and to sell assets like stocks and commodities when economic optimism diminishes. Among perceived higher risk and commodity-linked currencies, the Australian dollar [AUD= 0.9185 -0.0052 (-0.56%) ] was down against the greenback, off a 15-month high of $0.9407 last week, while the New Zealand dollar [NZD= 0.7262 -0.0066 (-0.9%) ] fell versus the U.S. currency. The U.S. Federal Reserve will release minutes of its Nov. 3-4 meeting, and markets will look for any hints on when and how the Fed will draw down extraordinary economic support measures. The minutes also include economic projections.

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