Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Wednesday, after a decision by ratings agency Moody’s not to downgrade Spain’s sovereign rating to junk status boosted demand for riskier assets.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.36% to 1.3100.
Moody’s confirmed Spain’s credit rating at Baaa3 with a negative outlook, just one notch above junk status and expressed confidence that reforms enacted by the Spanish government and the European Central Bank’s bond buying program would ensure that Madrid had continued access to credit markets.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds fell to 5.53% following the announcement, the lowest level since April.
Sentiment on the euro has been underpinned in recent weeks by hopes that Spain will soon request a bailout from its euro zone partners, but uncertainty over the timing of a request and what form a bailout would take has persisted.
The greenback was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.26% to 1.6152.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 4,000 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1,000, bringing the unemployment rate down to 7.9% from 8.1% in August.
Separately, the minutes of the Bank of England’s October meeting showed that policymakers voted in favor of leaving the size of the bank’s asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion and interest rates at a record low 0.5% this month.
However, the minutes indicated that policymakers disagreed over whether more easing will be required when the current round of asset purchases ends later this month.
Elsewhere, the greenback slipped lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.17% to 78.75 and USD/CHF down 0.31% to 0.9230.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.04% to 0.9862, AUD/USD rising 0.41% to 1.0317 and NZD/USD up 0.34% to 0.8168.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.30% to 79.18.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on building permits and housing starts.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.36% to 1.3100.
Moody’s confirmed Spain’s credit rating at Baaa3 with a negative outlook, just one notch above junk status and expressed confidence that reforms enacted by the Spanish government and the European Central Bank’s bond buying program would ensure that Madrid had continued access to credit markets.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds fell to 5.53% following the announcement, the lowest level since April.
Sentiment on the euro has been underpinned in recent weeks by hopes that Spain will soon request a bailout from its euro zone partners, but uncertainty over the timing of a request and what form a bailout would take has persisted.
The greenback was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.26% to 1.6152.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 4,000 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1,000, bringing the unemployment rate down to 7.9% from 8.1% in August.
Separately, the minutes of the Bank of England’s October meeting showed that policymakers voted in favor of leaving the size of the bank’s asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion and interest rates at a record low 0.5% this month.
However, the minutes indicated that policymakers disagreed over whether more easing will be required when the current round of asset purchases ends later this month.
Elsewhere, the greenback slipped lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.17% to 78.75 and USD/CHF down 0.31% to 0.9230.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.04% to 0.9862, AUD/USD rising 0.41% to 1.0317 and NZD/USD up 0.34% to 0.8168.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.30% to 79.18.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on building permits and housing starts.