Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was down against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as mixed messages from the euro zone troubled the greenback.
During mid session U.S. trade, the greenback was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing higher by 0.12% to hit 1.3417.
Mixed messages from Germany and France regarding the pending European summit meeting kept the single currency in check for most of the trading day.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to slash interest rates to a record low of 1% at the meeting on Thursday.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.68% to hit 1.5705.
Earlier Wednesday, news of British industrial output falling at the fastest pace in six months worked to add pessimism to the euro zone.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against both the yen and Swiss franc with USD/JPY dropping 0.08% to hit 77.67 and USD/CHF slipping 0.26% to hit 0.9235.
Earlier, Greece passed an austerity budget triggering violent street protests on the island nation.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing higher by 0.1% to 1.0102, AUD/USD dipping 0.33% to 1.028 and NZD/USD dropping 0.12% to 0.7788.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was off by 0.17%.
A surprisingly positive U.S. mortgage report helped support the greenback during the session.
During mid session U.S. trade, the greenback was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing higher by 0.12% to hit 1.3417.
Mixed messages from Germany and France regarding the pending European summit meeting kept the single currency in check for most of the trading day.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to slash interest rates to a record low of 1% at the meeting on Thursday.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.68% to hit 1.5705.
Earlier Wednesday, news of British industrial output falling at the fastest pace in six months worked to add pessimism to the euro zone.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against both the yen and Swiss franc with USD/JPY dropping 0.08% to hit 77.67 and USD/CHF slipping 0.26% to hit 0.9235.
Earlier, Greece passed an austerity budget triggering violent street protests on the island nation.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing higher by 0.1% to 1.0102, AUD/USD dipping 0.33% to 1.028 and NZD/USD dropping 0.12% to 0.7788.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was off by 0.17%.
A surprisingly positive U.S. mortgage report helped support the greenback during the session.