Dollar holds steady vs. euro, yen in holiday-thinned trade

The dollar held steady against the euro and the yen on Wednesday, as upbeat U.S. data released the day before continued to support but trading volumes remained thin ahead of the New Year holiday.Heading into the final week of the year, trading volumes are expected to remain light as many traders already closed books, reducing liquidity in the market which could result in exaggerated moves.EUR/USD was steady at 1.0930.The dollar strengthened after the Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 96.5 in December from 92.6 in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 90.4.Analysts had expected the index to rise to 93.8 this month.Separately, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Anaysis said the goods trade deficit widened to $60.50 billion last month from $58.41 billion in October. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to $60.90 billion in November.The data came after mixed U.S. economic reports released last week failed to offer clues as to how fast the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates next year.With the first U.S. rate hike since 2006 out of the way, investors are now focusing on the pace of future rate increases.USD/JPY was little changed at 120.41.Investors also continued to focus on the oil market amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut and the lack of demand.Crude oil futures for February delivery were at $37.23 in late Asian trading, off the 11-year low of $35.98 hit on December 22.The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 98.27.