Investing.com - The U.S. dollar reversed early gains against most of its global counterparts on Monday, following dovish comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, while the euro was boosted by hopes for an agreement on a larger debt firewall.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar slid to a three-week low against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.35% to hit 1.3317.
Sentiment on the greenback was hit after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech that further monetary accommodation is needed to bring about big gains in the U.S. jobs market, which he described as “far from normal,” despite a recent improvement.
The euro also found support following German media reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble will support an initiative to combine the region’s two bailout funds to give a total fund of EUR700 billion to fight the debt crisis in the euro zone.
The euro fell to the session low against the greenback earlier after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned over the weekend that the threat of contagion from Spain could cause the debt crisis in the euro zone to flare up again.
Concerns over Spain overshadowed a report showing that German business confidence improved in March.
The Ifo Institute said earlier that its index of German business confidence inched up to 109.8, from a reading of 109.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to ease up to 109.7 this month.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.50% to hit 1.5948.
The greenback was higher against the yen but weakened against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.38% to hit 82.66 and USD/CHF shedding 0.31% to hit 0.9050.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD falling 0.49% to hit 0.9928, AUD/USD advancing 0.61% to hit 1.0530 and NZD/USD rising 0.56% to hit 0.8226.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that New Zealand posted a trade surplus of NZD161 million in February, after posting a deficit of NZD159 million the previous month.
Analysts had expected a trade surplus of NZD154 million last month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell 0.30% to hit 79.28.
Later Monday, the U.S. was to publish industry data on pending home sales, while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was to speak.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar slid to a three-week low against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.35% to hit 1.3317.
Sentiment on the greenback was hit after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech that further monetary accommodation is needed to bring about big gains in the U.S. jobs market, which he described as “far from normal,” despite a recent improvement.
The euro also found support following German media reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble will support an initiative to combine the region’s two bailout funds to give a total fund of EUR700 billion to fight the debt crisis in the euro zone.
The euro fell to the session low against the greenback earlier after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned over the weekend that the threat of contagion from Spain could cause the debt crisis in the euro zone to flare up again.
Concerns over Spain overshadowed a report showing that German business confidence improved in March.
The Ifo Institute said earlier that its index of German business confidence inched up to 109.8, from a reading of 109.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to ease up to 109.7 this month.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.50% to hit 1.5948.
The greenback was higher against the yen but weakened against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.38% to hit 82.66 and USD/CHF shedding 0.31% to hit 0.9050.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD falling 0.49% to hit 0.9928, AUD/USD advancing 0.61% to hit 1.0530 and NZD/USD rising 0.56% to hit 0.8226.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that New Zealand posted a trade surplus of NZD161 million in February, after posting a deficit of NZD159 million the previous month.
Analysts had expected a trade surplus of NZD154 million last month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell 0.30% to hit 79.28.
Later Monday, the U.S. was to publish industry data on pending home sales, while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was to speak.