2020.12.0821:16:00UTC+00Dollar Recovers From Recent Losses, Gains Against Peers

The U.S. dollar gained ground against peers on Tuesday, recovering from a 2-1/2 year low it had touched late last week.

The greenback firmed up despite a fairly steady equity markets amid positive news on the vaccine front.

The dollar index advanced to 91.02 in late morning trades, and was last seen at 90.95, up 0.17% from previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar was flat at $1.2106, recovering from a low of $1.2134.

The Pound Sterling was weak by about 0.2%, fetching $1.3354 a unit, despite recovering from a low of $1.3290. In Brexit news, European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic and UK cabinet minister Michael Gove announced they have come to an "agreement in principle on all issues" on the implementation of the Brexit withdrawal deal, including the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels this week to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a last ditch effort to salvage Brexit talks.

The Yen weakened to 104.17 a dollar, drifting down from 104.05. Japan's gross domestic product surged an annualized 22.9% in the third quarter of 2020, the Cabinet Office said. That beat expectations for an increase of 21.5% following the 28.8% plunge in the previous three months.

On a quarterly basis, GDP was up 5% - matching forecasts following the 8.2% decline in the three months prior.

The Aussie was weaker against the dollar, with the AUD-USD pair at 0.7409, compared to 0.7421 on Monday.

The Swiss franc was trading at 0.8891 a dollar, down 0.17% from previous close. Data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed the jobless rate in Switzerland was stable in November, coming in at a seasonally adjusted 3.4%, same as seen in October.

On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate rose to 3.3% in November from 3.2% in the previous month.

The Loonie weakened to 1.2820 a dollar from 1.2798 a dollar, losing about 0.17%.