Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Thursday, as declining oil prices and fears of a potential British exit from the European Union continued to dominate markets.
USD/JPY held steady at 112.22.
Oil prices steadied above $31 a barrel but concerns over a supply glut persisted after after weekly stockpile data released on Wednesday showed that U.S. oil inventories rose to an all-time high last week.
The dollar was also steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.3921, still close to Wednesday’s seven-year low of 1.3875.
Sterling remained under broad selling pressure as several senior members of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party, including London Mayor Boris Johnson, have said they will be backing the campaign to leave the EU, in a blow to his plans to remain in the bloc.
Earlier Thursday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded by 0.5% in the first quarter, unchanged from an initial estimate and in line with expectations. The U.K. economy grew by 0.4% in the previous quarter.
Year-over-year, the U.K. economy grew at a rate of 1.9% in the three months ended December 31, unchanged from a preliminary reading and also in line with forecasts.
The dollar was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD at 1.1016.
Data on Thursday showed that the euro zone’s consumer price inflation rose by 0.3% last month, down from a preliminary estimate of 0.4%. Euro zone inflation rose by 0.2% in December.
Month-over-month, consumer prices fell 1.4% last month, matching forecasts.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs rose by 1.0% in January, meeting expectations and unchanged from an initial estimate.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF rose 0.20% to trade at 0.9909.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.26% at 0.7177, while NZD/USD edged up 0.11% to 0.6668.
USD/CAD held steady at 1.3696.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 97.53, off the previous session’s three-week high of 97.92.