Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as the euro and pound jumped to multi-week highs amid speculation the European Central Bank and the Bank of England would hike interest rates to curb inflation.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.79% to hit a three-week high of 1.3759, after European Central Bank policymakers indicated the central bank could raise rates to tame inflation.
Later in the day, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet was to speak at a public engagement in Belgium.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.62% to hit a three-month high of 1.6237.
Earlier in the day, the minutes of the February 10 BoE policy meeting revealed that the bank’s chief economist Spencer Dale joined Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting for higher rates, moving the BoE closer to tightening policy in the face of accelerating inflation.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dropping 0.25% to hit a nine-day low of 82.56 and USD/CHF sliding 0.55% to hit a two-month low of 0.9339.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD adding 0.14% to hit 0.9920 and NZD/USD dipping 0.04% to hit 0.7461
Earlier in the day, Moody’s Investors Service said it saw no immediate impact from the Christchurch earthquake on New Zealand’s Aaa credit rating.
However, the U.S. dollar was down against the Aussie, with AUD/USD gaining 0.27% to hit 1.0016.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.57%.
Earlier Wednesday, industry data showed that U.S. existing home sales increased more-than-expected in January, rising to an eight-month high.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.79% to hit a three-week high of 1.3759, after European Central Bank policymakers indicated the central bank could raise rates to tame inflation.
Later in the day, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet was to speak at a public engagement in Belgium.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.62% to hit a three-month high of 1.6237.
Earlier in the day, the minutes of the February 10 BoE policy meeting revealed that the bank’s chief economist Spencer Dale joined Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting for higher rates, moving the BoE closer to tightening policy in the face of accelerating inflation.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dropping 0.25% to hit a nine-day low of 82.56 and USD/CHF sliding 0.55% to hit a two-month low of 0.9339.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD adding 0.14% to hit 0.9920 and NZD/USD dipping 0.04% to hit 0.7461
Earlier in the day, Moody’s Investors Service said it saw no immediate impact from the Christchurch earthquake on New Zealand’s Aaa credit rating.
However, the U.S. dollar was down against the Aussie, with AUD/USD gaining 0.27% to hit 1.0016.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.57%.
Earlier Wednesday, industry data showed that U.S. existing home sales increased more-than-expected in January, rising to an eight-month high.