Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained broadly higher against its major counterparts on Thursday, as markets were jittery after a weak Spanish government bond auction, while investors eyed a press conference by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and a string of U.S. data.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.24% to hit 1.3126.
Spain sold the full target amount of EUR2.5 billion of government bonds in its first debt sale since being downgraded by Standard & Poor’s, but the yield on the country’s five-year bonds rose to 4.96% from 3.69%, while the yield on three-year bonds climbed to 4.03% from 2.61%.
Market participants were looking ahead to the outcome of the ECB’s policy meeting, amid pressure on policymakers to resume the bank’s bond purchase program in order to ease pressure on peripheral borrowing costs.
Earlier in the day, the ECB announced that it was leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1%, in a widely expected decision.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.16% to hit 1.6174.
In the U.K., a report showed that service sector activity expanded at a slower rate than expected in April, falling to the lowest level since November, but the report indicated that the overall outlook remained positive.
The services purchasing managers index fell to 53.3 in April, from 55.3 the previous month, worse than expectations for a decline to 54.6.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.29% to hit 80.39 and USD/CHF adding 0.22% to hit 0.9152.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD declining 0.24% to hit 0.9840, AUD/USD dropping 0.47% to hit 1.0283 and NZD/USD plummeting 1.09% to hit 0.8019.
The New Zealand dollar weakened broadly after official data showed that the country’s unemployment rate rose unexpectedly in the first quarter, climbing to 6.7%, against expectations for a decline to 6.3%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.21%, at 79.37.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on service sector growth.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.24% to hit 1.3126.
Spain sold the full target amount of EUR2.5 billion of government bonds in its first debt sale since being downgraded by Standard & Poor’s, but the yield on the country’s five-year bonds rose to 4.96% from 3.69%, while the yield on three-year bonds climbed to 4.03% from 2.61%.
Market participants were looking ahead to the outcome of the ECB’s policy meeting, amid pressure on policymakers to resume the bank’s bond purchase program in order to ease pressure on peripheral borrowing costs.
Earlier in the day, the ECB announced that it was leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1%, in a widely expected decision.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.16% to hit 1.6174.
In the U.K., a report showed that service sector activity expanded at a slower rate than expected in April, falling to the lowest level since November, but the report indicated that the overall outlook remained positive.
The services purchasing managers index fell to 53.3 in April, from 55.3 the previous month, worse than expectations for a decline to 54.6.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.29% to hit 80.39 and USD/CHF adding 0.22% to hit 0.9152.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD declining 0.24% to hit 0.9840, AUD/USD dropping 0.47% to hit 1.0283 and NZD/USD plummeting 1.09% to hit 0.8019.
The New Zealand dollar weakened broadly after official data showed that the country’s unemployment rate rose unexpectedly in the first quarter, climbing to 6.7%, against expectations for a decline to 6.3%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.21%, at 79.37.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on service sector growth.