Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained broadly higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, as a combination of concerns over the economic outlook for the euro zone and U.S. fiscal policy supported safe haven demand.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was hovering close to a two-month high against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.27% to 1.2736.
The euro found some support after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the euro zone was making “visible progress” in tackling the debt crisis, but he urged governments to continue with efforts to reduce budget deficits.
Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the bank’s planned bond purchase program had bolstered confidence in financial markets.
The ECB kept interest rates unchanged at a record-low 0.75% earlier, in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile, a successful Spanish bond auction on Thursday eased pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to request a bailout before the end of this year.
Spain sold EUR4.76 billion of three-year, five-year and 20-year bonds, which will allow the country to meet its financing requirements for 2012.
Overall market sentiment continued to be weighed by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.06% to 1.5974.
Sterling came off session lows against the greenback after the Bank of England held interest rates at 0.50% and kept the size of its asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.33% to 79.73, but was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.21% to 0.9467.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.22% to 0.9990, AUD/USD inching up 0.06% to 1.0417 and NZD/USD down 0.27% to 0.8162.
In Canada, official data showed that the trade deficit narrowed to CAD0.8 billion in September from a deficit of CAD1.5 billion in August. Analysts had expected Canada’s trade deficit to widen to CAD2.0 billion.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% to 80.99.
The dollar showed little reaction after the U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to 355,000 last week from 363,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for an increase to 370,000.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the U.S trade deficit narrowed to USD41.5 billion in September from a deficit of USD43.8 billion in August, defying expectations for a deficit of USD45.0 billion.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was hovering close to a two-month high against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.27% to 1.2736.
The euro found some support after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the euro zone was making “visible progress” in tackling the debt crisis, but he urged governments to continue with efforts to reduce budget deficits.
Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the bank’s planned bond purchase program had bolstered confidence in financial markets.
The ECB kept interest rates unchanged at a record-low 0.75% earlier, in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile, a successful Spanish bond auction on Thursday eased pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to request a bailout before the end of this year.
Spain sold EUR4.76 billion of three-year, five-year and 20-year bonds, which will allow the country to meet its financing requirements for 2012.
Overall market sentiment continued to be weighed by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.06% to 1.5974.
Sterling came off session lows against the greenback after the Bank of England held interest rates at 0.50% and kept the size of its asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.33% to 79.73, but was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.21% to 0.9467.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.22% to 0.9990, AUD/USD inching up 0.06% to 1.0417 and NZD/USD down 0.27% to 0.8162.
In Canada, official data showed that the trade deficit narrowed to CAD0.8 billion in September from a deficit of CAD1.5 billion in August. Analysts had expected Canada’s trade deficit to widen to CAD2.0 billion.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.15% to 80.99.
The dollar showed little reaction after the U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to 355,000 last week from 363,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for an increase to 370,000.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the U.S trade deficit narrowed to USD41.5 billion in September from a deficit of USD43.8 billion in August, defying expectations for a deficit of USD45.0 billion.