Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was modestly lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, but overall market sentiment remained subdued following a ratings cut on Spain by Standard & Poor’s, while worries over the global economic outlook also weighed.
During European morning trade, the dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.09% to 1.2885.
Pressure on Spain to seek a bailout mounted after ratings agency S&P cut the country’s credit rating to BBB-minus with a negative outlook late Wednesday, just one notch above junk status, citing “mounting risks to Spain’s public finances.”
The ratings agency also warned that the capacity of Spanish political institutions to deal with the challenges presented by the current fiscal and economic crisis is declining.
Earlier Thursday, Italy saw borrowing costs rise to the highest level since mid-July at an auction of three-year government bonds, reflecting unease over the risk of contagion from Spain.
The euro remained supported after International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde said struggling euro zone members such as Greece and Spain should be given more time to cut their budget deficits.
The greenback was hovering close to a one-month high against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.08% to 1.6017.
Sentiment on sterling remained fragile after a recent string of soft U.K. economic data undermined hopes for a sustained economic recovery and kept alive speculation over the possibility of another round of easing by the Bank of England.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.11% to 78.10 and USD/CHF down 0.21% to 0.9371.
The minutes of the Bank of Japan’s September meeting published earlier indicated that some policymakers were leaning towards more aggressive easing measures, boosting expectations that the central bank may ease policy again later this month.
The BoJ increased the size of its asset purchase program by JPY10 trillion last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that machinery orders fell for the first time in three months in August, underlining concerns over Japan’s fragile economic recovery.
The greenback was broadly weaker against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD losing 0.22% to trade at 0.9795, AUD/USD climbing 0.44% to 1.0279 and NZD/USD up 0.22% to 0.8182.
The Australian dollar found support after official data showed that the country’s economy added 14,500 jobs in September, easily beating expectations for an increase of 3,800.
The country’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.4% in September, against expectations for an increase to 5.3%, from 5.1% in August.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.03% to 80.02.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish government data on the trade balance, in addition to official data on initial jobless claims and crude oil stockpiles.
During European morning trade, the dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.09% to 1.2885.
Pressure on Spain to seek a bailout mounted after ratings agency S&P cut the country’s credit rating to BBB-minus with a negative outlook late Wednesday, just one notch above junk status, citing “mounting risks to Spain’s public finances.”
The ratings agency also warned that the capacity of Spanish political institutions to deal with the challenges presented by the current fiscal and economic crisis is declining.
Earlier Thursday, Italy saw borrowing costs rise to the highest level since mid-July at an auction of three-year government bonds, reflecting unease over the risk of contagion from Spain.
The euro remained supported after International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde said struggling euro zone members such as Greece and Spain should be given more time to cut their budget deficits.
The greenback was hovering close to a one-month high against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.08% to 1.6017.
Sentiment on sterling remained fragile after a recent string of soft U.K. economic data undermined hopes for a sustained economic recovery and kept alive speculation over the possibility of another round of easing by the Bank of England.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.11% to 78.10 and USD/CHF down 0.21% to 0.9371.
The minutes of the Bank of Japan’s September meeting published earlier indicated that some policymakers were leaning towards more aggressive easing measures, boosting expectations that the central bank may ease policy again later this month.
The BoJ increased the size of its asset purchase program by JPY10 trillion last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that machinery orders fell for the first time in three months in August, underlining concerns over Japan’s fragile economic recovery.
The greenback was broadly weaker against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD losing 0.22% to trade at 0.9795, AUD/USD climbing 0.44% to 1.0279 and NZD/USD up 0.22% to 0.8182.
The Australian dollar found support after official data showed that the country’s economy added 14,500 jobs in September, easily beating expectations for an increase of 3,800.
The country’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.4% in September, against expectations for an increase to 5.3%, from 5.1% in August.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.03% to 80.02.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish government data on the trade balance, in addition to official data on initial jobless claims and crude oil stockpiles.