Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as reports that China looked set to ease monetary policy supported risk appetite but investors remained jittery after Fitch’s flagged a possible ratings downgrade for Italy.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.44% to hit 1.2791.
The euro briefly trimmed gains earlier after Fitch’s warned that Italy could face a two-notch downgrade. The comments came after the ratings agency, which currently holds Italy at an A+ rating, said last week that there was a “significant” chance that Italy would be downgraded by the end of January.
But risk appetite remained supported after Chinese media reports that the central bank could ease monetary policy by the end of this month, to stimulate growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.20% to hit 1.5361.
In the U.K., official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a 17-year high of 8.4% in December, from 8.3% the previous month.
The report also showed that the claimant count rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,200 in December, significantly below expectations for an increase of 8,000, indicating that the downturn in the labor market may be moderating.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.09% to hit 76.75 and USD/CHF shedding 0.44% to hit 0.9452.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi warned against the appreciation of the yen earlier, signaling his readiness to curb the currency's gains, although he said Japan could not intervene in the same way Switzerland has.
Elsewhere, a report showed that the ZEW index of Swiss economic expectations rebounded to minus 50.1 this month, from minus 72.0 in December, the strongest increase since April 2011.
The greenback was also down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.09% to hit 1.0141, AUD/USD easing up 0.10% to hit 1.0384 and NZD/USD climbing 0.36% to hit 0.8031.
In Australia, report showed that consumer sentiment rose just 2.4% in January after an 8.3% decline the previous month, indicating that a series of rate cuts by the country’s central bank at the end of last year have not significantly boosted the overall economic outlook.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.31% to hit 81.12.
Later in the day, Greece’s government was due to resume talks with its bond holders to discuss a voluntary write-down on Greece’s sovereign debt, after talks broke down on Friday, amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was to release official data on producer price inflation and industrial production.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.44% to hit 1.2791.
The euro briefly trimmed gains earlier after Fitch’s warned that Italy could face a two-notch downgrade. The comments came after the ratings agency, which currently holds Italy at an A+ rating, said last week that there was a “significant” chance that Italy would be downgraded by the end of January.
But risk appetite remained supported after Chinese media reports that the central bank could ease monetary policy by the end of this month, to stimulate growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.20% to hit 1.5361.
In the U.K., official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a 17-year high of 8.4% in December, from 8.3% the previous month.
The report also showed that the claimant count rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,200 in December, significantly below expectations for an increase of 8,000, indicating that the downturn in the labor market may be moderating.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.09% to hit 76.75 and USD/CHF shedding 0.44% to hit 0.9452.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi warned against the appreciation of the yen earlier, signaling his readiness to curb the currency's gains, although he said Japan could not intervene in the same way Switzerland has.
Elsewhere, a report showed that the ZEW index of Swiss economic expectations rebounded to minus 50.1 this month, from minus 72.0 in December, the strongest increase since April 2011.
The greenback was also down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.09% to hit 1.0141, AUD/USD easing up 0.10% to hit 1.0384 and NZD/USD climbing 0.36% to hit 0.8031.
In Australia, report showed that consumer sentiment rose just 2.4% in January after an 8.3% decline the previous month, indicating that a series of rate cuts by the country’s central bank at the end of last year have not significantly boosted the overall economic outlook.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.31% to hit 81.12.
Later in the day, Greece’s government was due to resume talks with its bond holders to discuss a voluntary write-down on Greece’s sovereign debt, after talks broke down on Friday, amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was to release official data on producer price inflation and industrial production.