The dollar edged higher against its rivals Wednesday, as bullish housing data strengthened expectations that the U.S. economy will remain on solid footing. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.06% 97.58. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 3.6% to a 5.54 million annual rate. That was the strongest pace of growth since February 2018. A sharp uptick in the pound, meanwhile, kept the dollar on the backfoot as positive U.K. economy data cooled expectations that the Bank of England will cut rates at the end of the month. USD/CAD rose 0.62% to C$1.315 after the Bank of Canada kept its benchmark rate on hold, but left the door open to a future rate cut, saying that it will monitor data to gauge whether the recent slowdown in domestic growth has accelerated.