Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was mixed to lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. economic data later in the day amid fresh speculation over further easing measures by the Federal Reserve, while euro zone debt concerns persisted.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD climbing 0.52% to hit 1.2126.
The euro found support following comments from European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny, who said that there were some arguments in favor of giving the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, a banking license, which would increase its firepower.
The yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds spiked to 7.71% earlier, well above the 7% threshold widely considered unsustainable, fuelling fears that Madrid will lose access to international credit markets.
In addition, officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout, casting fresh doubts over the country’s future in the euro zone.
Also Wednesday, data showed that German business confidence in July deteriorated to the lowest level since June 2010, amid ongoing concerns over euro zone’s debt crisis.
In a report, the German research institute Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell to 103.3 in July from a reading of 105.2 in June, whose figure was revised down from 105.3.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.17% to hit 1.5478.
Sterling came under pressure after preliminary data showed that the U.K. economy contracted for the third consecutive quarter in the three months to June, marking the longest double-dip recession since quarterly records began in 1955.
The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product fell 0.7%, compared to expectations for a 0.2% contraction and following a 0.3% decline the previous quarter.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged up against the yen, with USD/JPY adding 0.09% to hit 78.24, but dropped against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF declining 0.57% to trade at 0.9901.
The yen remained under pressure after Bank of Japan policymaker Hirhide Yamaguchi said earlier that the central bank will ease monetary policy further if the yen's rise severely threatens Japan's path towards a moderate economic recovery.
Meanwhile, government data showed that Japan’s trade deficit narrowed more-than-expected in June, narrowing to JPY0.30 trillion from a deficit of JPY0.62 trillion the previous month.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.37% to 1.0184, AUD/USD rising 0.43% to 1.0264 and NZD/USD adding 0.13% to trade at 0.7856.
In New Zealand, official data showed that the trade surplus widened unexpectedly in June, rising to NZD331 million from a surplus of NZD232 million the previous month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that consumer price inflation in Australia rose 0.5% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.6% increase and following a 0.1% rise the previous quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.25% to 83.87.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales, as well as a report on crude oil stockpiles.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD climbing 0.52% to hit 1.2126.
The euro found support following comments from European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny, who said that there were some arguments in favor of giving the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, a banking license, which would increase its firepower.
The yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds spiked to 7.71% earlier, well above the 7% threshold widely considered unsustainable, fuelling fears that Madrid will lose access to international credit markets.
In addition, officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout, casting fresh doubts over the country’s future in the euro zone.
Also Wednesday, data showed that German business confidence in July deteriorated to the lowest level since June 2010, amid ongoing concerns over euro zone’s debt crisis.
In a report, the German research institute Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell to 103.3 in July from a reading of 105.2 in June, whose figure was revised down from 105.3.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.17% to hit 1.5478.
Sterling came under pressure after preliminary data showed that the U.K. economy contracted for the third consecutive quarter in the three months to June, marking the longest double-dip recession since quarterly records began in 1955.
The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product fell 0.7%, compared to expectations for a 0.2% contraction and following a 0.3% decline the previous quarter.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged up against the yen, with USD/JPY adding 0.09% to hit 78.24, but dropped against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF declining 0.57% to trade at 0.9901.
The yen remained under pressure after Bank of Japan policymaker Hirhide Yamaguchi said earlier that the central bank will ease monetary policy further if the yen's rise severely threatens Japan's path towards a moderate economic recovery.
Meanwhile, government data showed that Japan’s trade deficit narrowed more-than-expected in June, narrowing to JPY0.30 trillion from a deficit of JPY0.62 trillion the previous month.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.37% to 1.0184, AUD/USD rising 0.43% to 1.0264 and NZD/USD adding 0.13% to trade at 0.7856.
In New Zealand, official data showed that the trade surplus widened unexpectedly in June, rising to NZD331 million from a surplus of NZD232 million the previous month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that consumer price inflation in Australia rose 0.5% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.6% increase and following a 0.1% rise the previous quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.25% to 83.87.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales, as well as a report on crude oil stockpiles.