NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar on Tuesday rose against the euro and pound, but fell against the yen and the Canadian dollar on mixed U.S. economic data.

    The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator tracking signed but not yet closed sales contracts, fell 16.0 percent in November, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. It was the first decline after nine months of gains.

    The steep decline confirms that the first-time homebuyer tax credit played an important part in boosting sales over the last several months, and that sales are likely to slump in the near future, said analysts of Nomura Economic Research.

    The first-time homebuyer tax credit was originally scheduled to expire at the end of November. The credit has since been extended, but this is unlikely to support sales volumes until the spring.

    The U.S. Commerce Department reported that factory orders increased by 1.1 percent in November, more than an increase of 0.5percent generally expected. Orders and shipments of core capital goods were both revised higher, suggesting more momentum in investment spending.

    Strength in factory output was relatively broad-based during the month. Shipments of consumer durables, machinery and both light and heavy vehicles showed strong gains.

    The euro bought 1.4358 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.4412 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound fell to 1.5979 dollars from 1.6094 dollars.

    The dollar fell to 1.0379 Canadian dollars from 1.0422 Canadian dollars, and fell to 91.62 Japanese yen from 92.60 Japanese yen. It rose to 1.0345 Swiss francs from 1.0294 Swiss francs.

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