Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pushed higher against most of its major counterparts on Wednesday, as market sentiment was hit by reports that European Union officials are contemplating delaying Greece’s second bailout package.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.43% to hit 1.3077.
The euro weakened broadly after Reuters reported that EU officials are looking at ways to delay the second bailout until after a general election in April but still avoid a default amid concerns that political leaders in Greece are not fully committed to implementing harsh austerity measures demanded by international creditors.
Without a bailout, Greece faces the threat of defaulting when a EUR14.5 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
Euro zone finance ministers have replaced a meeting aimed at signing off on Greece’s bailout scheduled to take place later in the day with a conference call, after failing to receive assurances on how Athens plans to implement fiscal reforms approved in a parliamentary vote on Sunday.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% during the fourth quarter and grew by just 0 .7% during 2011 as a whole.
The greenback was fractionally higher against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.05% to hit 1.5687.
The Bank of England’s February inflation report dampened expectations for further quantitative easing earlier after the bank raised its inflation forecast for two years time to a higher-than-expected 1.8% up from 1.3% in November's report.
But the pound remained under pressure after BoE Governor Mervyn King said that economic growth is likely to alternate between expansion and contraction in 2012 and warned that the euro zone crisis remains the biggest threat to the U.K. economic recovery.
Also Wednesday, a report showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in January, while the unemployment rate held steady at 8.4%, the highest level since 1996.
But the greenback was lower against yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.13% to hit 78.33.
The yen slumped to a three month low against the greenback during the Asian session after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced that it would increase the size of its asset-purchase program by JPY10 trillion in an attempt to boost growth and protect the economy from the effects of the strong yen.
The greenback was higher against the Swiss franc with USD/CHF rising 0.33% to hit 0.9224.
In Switzerland, a report showed that economic sentiment improved in February, rising significantly for the second consecutive month.
Elsewhere, the greenback remained lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.22% to hit 0.9968, AUD/USD up 0.32% to hit 1.0727 and NZD/USD rising 0.43% to hit 0.8372.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.11% to hit 79.64.
In the U.S., a report showed that manufacturing in the New York region expanded at the fastest rate since June 2010 in February. A separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. was unexpectedly flat in January.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy-setting meeting.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.43% to hit 1.3077.
The euro weakened broadly after Reuters reported that EU officials are looking at ways to delay the second bailout until after a general election in April but still avoid a default amid concerns that political leaders in Greece are not fully committed to implementing harsh austerity measures demanded by international creditors.
Without a bailout, Greece faces the threat of defaulting when a EUR14.5 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
Euro zone finance ministers have replaced a meeting aimed at signing off on Greece’s bailout scheduled to take place later in the day with a conference call, after failing to receive assurances on how Athens plans to implement fiscal reforms approved in a parliamentary vote on Sunday.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% during the fourth quarter and grew by just 0 .7% during 2011 as a whole.
The greenback was fractionally higher against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.05% to hit 1.5687.
The Bank of England’s February inflation report dampened expectations for further quantitative easing earlier after the bank raised its inflation forecast for two years time to a higher-than-expected 1.8% up from 1.3% in November's report.
But the pound remained under pressure after BoE Governor Mervyn King said that economic growth is likely to alternate between expansion and contraction in 2012 and warned that the euro zone crisis remains the biggest threat to the U.K. economic recovery.
Also Wednesday, a report showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in January, while the unemployment rate held steady at 8.4%, the highest level since 1996.
But the greenback was lower against yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.13% to hit 78.33.
The yen slumped to a three month low against the greenback during the Asian session after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced that it would increase the size of its asset-purchase program by JPY10 trillion in an attempt to boost growth and protect the economy from the effects of the strong yen.
The greenback was higher against the Swiss franc with USD/CHF rising 0.33% to hit 0.9224.
In Switzerland, a report showed that economic sentiment improved in February, rising significantly for the second consecutive month.
Elsewhere, the greenback remained lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.22% to hit 0.9968, AUD/USD up 0.32% to hit 1.0727 and NZD/USD rising 0.43% to hit 0.8372.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.11% to hit 79.64.
In the U.S., a report showed that manufacturing in the New York region expanded at the fastest rate since June 2010 in February. A separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. was unexpectedly flat in January.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy-setting meeting.