Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was trading in a tight range against the other major currencies on Thursday, as investors awaited the European Central Bank‘s post-policy meeting press conference later in the session.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was little changed against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.03% to 1.3071.
The ECB left rates unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday in a widely expected decision.
ECB President Mario Draghi was expected to cut forecasts for economic growth in 2013 at the central bank’s press conference.
Final data on Thursday showed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and confirming a recession after a 0.2% contraction in the previous quarter.
Demand for the single currency continued to be underpinned by recent signs of progress in dealing with the debt crisis in the euro zone, but concerns over the weak outlook for the bloc’s economy persisted.
The greenback was steady close to a one-month low against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.11% to 1.6111.
The Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% and left the size of its asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion earlier , in a widely anticipated decision.
Meanwhile, official data showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to GBP9.5 billion in October from GBP8.4 billion the previous month as export demand fell.
The greenback slipped lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.14% to 82.32, but was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dipping 0.01% to 0.9263.
The greenback was broadly weaker against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching down 0.02% to 0.9914, AUD/USD rising 0.36% to 1.0492 and NZD/USD climbing 0.58% to 0.8335.
The Australian dollar gained ground after official data showed that the Australian economy added 13,900 jobs in November, far more than the expected 200 increase, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.2% from 5.4% in October.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03% to 79.79.
Later in the trading day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was little changed against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.03% to 1.3071.
The ECB left rates unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday in a widely expected decision.
ECB President Mario Draghi was expected to cut forecasts for economic growth in 2013 at the central bank’s press conference.
Final data on Thursday showed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and confirming a recession after a 0.2% contraction in the previous quarter.
Demand for the single currency continued to be underpinned by recent signs of progress in dealing with the debt crisis in the euro zone, but concerns over the weak outlook for the bloc’s economy persisted.
The greenback was steady close to a one-month low against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.11% to 1.6111.
The Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% and left the size of its asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion earlier , in a widely anticipated decision.
Meanwhile, official data showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to GBP9.5 billion in October from GBP8.4 billion the previous month as export demand fell.
The greenback slipped lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.14% to 82.32, but was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dipping 0.01% to 0.9263.
The greenback was broadly weaker against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching down 0.02% to 0.9914, AUD/USD rising 0.36% to 1.0492 and NZD/USD climbing 0.58% to 0.8335.
The Australian dollar gained ground after official data showed that the Australian economy added 13,900 jobs in November, far more than the expected 200 increase, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.2% from 5.4% in October.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03% to 79.79.
Later in the trading day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.