Investing.com - The U.S. dollar turned broadly higher against its major counterparts on Thursday, after an auction of Spanish government debt failed to ease concerns over the country’s financial troubles although the sale met with solid investor demand.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.26% to hit 1.3093.
Spain raised slightly more than the full targeted amount of EUR2.5 billion, while the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds remained below the 6% level.
Spain auctioned EUR1.11 billion of two-year bonds at an average yield of 3.46%, up from 2.06% at a similar auction last month and EUR1.42 billion of 10-year bonds at an average yield of 5.74%, up from 5.33% from a similar auction in March.
The increase in 10-year bond yields reflected concerns that that Spain’s government may struggle to reduce one of the largest deficits in the euro zone in the face of a looming recession.
Meanwhile, worries over Spain’s troubled banking sector weighed, after the country’s central bank said Wednesday that the amount of bad loans at domestic banks rose to an 18-year high in February.
The greenback was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD inching 0.02% lower to hit 1.6016.
The pound strengthened against all of its major counterparts after Wednesday’s minutes of the Bank of England’s April meeting dampened expectations for more monetary easing from the central bank.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the broadly weaker yen and against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.55% to hit 81.69 and USD/CHF adding 0.23% to hit 0.9180.
The yen was pressured lower by ongoing expectations for further easing measures by the Bank of Japan, after the central bank's governor reaffirmed a commitment to monetary easing in order to meet Japan’s targeted rate of inflation.
Meanwhile, official data showed that Japan’s trade deficit widened more-than-expected in March, climbing to JPY0.62 trillion from a deficit of JPY0.32 trillion the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to JPY0.44 trillion last month.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing 0.03% to hit 0.9909, AUD/USD falling 0.11% to hit 1.0346 and NZD/USD edging up 0.06% to hit 0.8164.
In New Zealand, official data showed that consumer price inflation rose 0.5% in the first quarter, after a 0.3% decline the previous quarter, slightly less than expectations for a 0.6% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% at 79.89.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on unemployment claims, followed by industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.26% to hit 1.3093.
Spain raised slightly more than the full targeted amount of EUR2.5 billion, while the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds remained below the 6% level.
Spain auctioned EUR1.11 billion of two-year bonds at an average yield of 3.46%, up from 2.06% at a similar auction last month and EUR1.42 billion of 10-year bonds at an average yield of 5.74%, up from 5.33% from a similar auction in March.
The increase in 10-year bond yields reflected concerns that that Spain’s government may struggle to reduce one of the largest deficits in the euro zone in the face of a looming recession.
Meanwhile, worries over Spain’s troubled banking sector weighed, after the country’s central bank said Wednesday that the amount of bad loans at domestic banks rose to an 18-year high in February.
The greenback was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD inching 0.02% lower to hit 1.6016.
The pound strengthened against all of its major counterparts after Wednesday’s minutes of the Bank of England’s April meeting dampened expectations for more monetary easing from the central bank.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the broadly weaker yen and against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.55% to hit 81.69 and USD/CHF adding 0.23% to hit 0.9180.
The yen was pressured lower by ongoing expectations for further easing measures by the Bank of Japan, after the central bank's governor reaffirmed a commitment to monetary easing in order to meet Japan’s targeted rate of inflation.
Meanwhile, official data showed that Japan’s trade deficit widened more-than-expected in March, climbing to JPY0.62 trillion from a deficit of JPY0.32 trillion the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to JPY0.44 trillion last month.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing 0.03% to hit 0.9909, AUD/USD falling 0.11% to hit 1.0346 and NZD/USD edging up 0.06% to hit 0.8164.
In New Zealand, official data showed that consumer price inflation rose 0.5% in the first quarter, after a 0.3% decline the previous quarter, slightly less than expectations for a 0.6% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% at 79.89.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on unemployment claims, followed by industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.