Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as market sentiment recovered following a steep sell-off earlier, as comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel eased fears over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD edging up 0.12% to hit 1.2744.
The euro found support after Angela Merkel indicated that the German government was willing to give more economic support to Greece to help the country remain in the euro zone.
This sentiment was echoed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said that the central bank would strongly prefer Greece to remain in the currency bloc.
Earlier in the day, Greek political leaders appointed a caretaker government headed by supreme court judge Panagiotis Pikrammenos to lead the country to fresh elections, which are due to be held on June 17.
Market sentiment also received a boost after U.S. data showed that new housing starts rose unexpectedly in April, climbing 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted 0.717 million, confounding expectations for a decline to 0.680 million.
The number of building permits issued in the U.S. in April fell 7.0%, more than expectations for a decline of 4.5%.
A separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. rose significantly more-than-expected in April, climbing 1.1%, but March’s figure was revised down to a 0.6% drop from a previously reported flat reading.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.44% to hit 1.5922.
The pound weakened broadly earlier after the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report said inflation will not fall back as quickly as hoped and was likely to remain above its 2% targeted rate for at least another year.
The BoE also revised down economic growth forecasts, sparking fears that the central bank will implement a fresh round of easing measures to shore up the recession hit U.K. economy.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest monthly drop since July 2010 last month, declining by 13,700, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2%.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen but slipped against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY adding 0.24% to hit 80.36 and USD/CHF losing 0.14% to hit 0.9421.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.04% to hit 1.0075, AUD/USD rising 0.23% to hit 0.9957 and NZD/USD shedding 0.32% to hit 0.7668.
The Canadian dollar touched a session high against the greenback earlier, after official data showed that Canadian manufacturing sales jumped 1.9% in March, the largest increase since September 2011 and easily surpassing expectations for a 0.4% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03%, to trade at 81.41.
Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD edging up 0.12% to hit 1.2744.
The euro found support after Angela Merkel indicated that the German government was willing to give more economic support to Greece to help the country remain in the euro zone.
This sentiment was echoed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said that the central bank would strongly prefer Greece to remain in the currency bloc.
Earlier in the day, Greek political leaders appointed a caretaker government headed by supreme court judge Panagiotis Pikrammenos to lead the country to fresh elections, which are due to be held on June 17.
Market sentiment also received a boost after U.S. data showed that new housing starts rose unexpectedly in April, climbing 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted 0.717 million, confounding expectations for a decline to 0.680 million.
The number of building permits issued in the U.S. in April fell 7.0%, more than expectations for a decline of 4.5%.
A separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. rose significantly more-than-expected in April, climbing 1.1%, but March’s figure was revised down to a 0.6% drop from a previously reported flat reading.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.44% to hit 1.5922.
The pound weakened broadly earlier after the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report said inflation will not fall back as quickly as hoped and was likely to remain above its 2% targeted rate for at least another year.
The BoE also revised down economic growth forecasts, sparking fears that the central bank will implement a fresh round of easing measures to shore up the recession hit U.K. economy.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest monthly drop since July 2010 last month, declining by 13,700, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2%.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen but slipped against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY adding 0.24% to hit 80.36 and USD/CHF losing 0.14% to hit 0.9421.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.04% to hit 1.0075, AUD/USD rising 0.23% to hit 0.9957 and NZD/USD shedding 0.32% to hit 0.7668.
The Canadian dollar touched a session high against the greenback earlier, after official data showed that Canadian manufacturing sales jumped 1.9% in March, the largest increase since September 2011 and easily surpassing expectations for a 0.4% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03%, to trade at 81.41.
Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.