Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as demand for higher-yielding, riskier assets was boosted by speculation that the European Central Bank will soon take action to stem the debt crisis in the euro zone.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rallying 1.06% to 1.2475.
The euro strengthened broadly after a report in the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper said it could confirm weekend reports that the ECB may set a cap on peripheral euro zone bond yields at its next policy meeting in September, beyond which its bond buying program would kick in.
On Monday, the ECB dismissed the reports, saying it was “misleading” to report on decisions which have not yet been taken.
Speculation over prospects for action by the ECB saw Spanish borrowing costs fall at an auction of short-term government debt earlier, with Madrid successful auctioning EUR4.5 billion of bills, the top end of the target range.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to a series of euro zone meetings later in the week, amid hopes that leaders would make some progress on steps to the stem the crisis in the region.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.46% to 1.5781.
In the U.K., official data showed that public sector borrowing rose unexpectedly in July, fuelling concerns over the state of public finances.
The National Statistics Office said that public sector net borrowing posted a surplus of GBP1.8 billion in July, compared to a deficit of GBP12.2 billion in June and disappointing expectations for a surplus of GBP2.5 billion.
Elsewhere, the greenback was little changed against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.09% to hit 79.35, but was weaker against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dropping 1.05% to trade at 0.9626.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD losing 0.38% to hit 0.9846, AUD/USD climbing 0.55% to 1.0503 and NZD/USD advancing 0.49% to trade at 0.8126.
The Canadian dollar shrugged off data showing that Canadian wholesale sales fell by 0.1% in June, confounding expectations for a 0.4% increase, following a 0.9% increase in May.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.80% to 81.86.
Market participants were looking ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rallying 1.06% to 1.2475.
The euro strengthened broadly after a report in the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper said it could confirm weekend reports that the ECB may set a cap on peripheral euro zone bond yields at its next policy meeting in September, beyond which its bond buying program would kick in.
On Monday, the ECB dismissed the reports, saying it was “misleading” to report on decisions which have not yet been taken.
Speculation over prospects for action by the ECB saw Spanish borrowing costs fall at an auction of short-term government debt earlier, with Madrid successful auctioning EUR4.5 billion of bills, the top end of the target range.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to a series of euro zone meetings later in the week, amid hopes that leaders would make some progress on steps to the stem the crisis in the region.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.46% to 1.5781.
In the U.K., official data showed that public sector borrowing rose unexpectedly in July, fuelling concerns over the state of public finances.
The National Statistics Office said that public sector net borrowing posted a surplus of GBP1.8 billion in July, compared to a deficit of GBP12.2 billion in June and disappointing expectations for a surplus of GBP2.5 billion.
Elsewhere, the greenback was little changed against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.09% to hit 79.35, but was weaker against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dropping 1.05% to trade at 0.9626.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD losing 0.38% to hit 0.9846, AUD/USD climbing 0.55% to 1.0503 and NZD/USD advancing 0.49% to trade at 0.8126.
The Canadian dollar shrugged off data showing that Canadian wholesale sales fell by 0.1% in June, confounding expectations for a 0.4% increase, following a 0.9% increase in May.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.80% to 81.86.
Market participants were looking ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.