Investing.com - The euro was steady against the other major currencies on Thursday, amid expectations that the European Central Bank will announce decisive measures to stem the debt crisis in the region following its policy meeting later in the day.
During European late morning trade, the euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.09% to 1.2613.
Demand for the single currency has been underpinned in recent weeks by expectations that the ECB is set to announce more details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets at its post-policy meeting press conference later in the day.
Speculation mounted on Wednesday, after Bloomberg reported that the ECB is planning unlimited purchases of government bonds with maturities of up to three years, without setting bond yield targets.
France saw bond yields fall at an auction of five- and 10-year government bonds on Thursday, while Spain also saw borrowing costs decline at an auction of two-, three- and four-year government bonds.
The euro was little changed after official data showed that the euro zone’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
The single currency was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.03% to 0.7926.
The Bank of England was to hold its monthly policy-setting meeting later Thursday, but the bank was widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.50% and leave the size of its asset purchase program unchanged.
The euro pushed higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY rising 0.17% to trade at 98.92 and inched up against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF edging up 0.07% to 1.2049.
The shared currency was broadly lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with EUR/AUD down 0.42% to 1.2310, EUR/NZD sliding 0.17% to 1.5826 and EUR/CAD dipping 0.07% to 1.2472.
In Australia, official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to 5.1% in August from 5.2% in July, defying expectations for an increase to 5.3%.
However, the number of people employed fell by 8,800 last month, disappointing expectations for an increase of 5,000.
The U.S. was to release a report on ADP non-farm payrolls later in the session, followed by weekly government data on unemployment claims. The country was also to release a report by the Institute for Supply Management on service sector activity.
During European late morning trade, the euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.09% to 1.2613.
Demand for the single currency has been underpinned in recent weeks by expectations that the ECB is set to announce more details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets at its post-policy meeting press conference later in the day.
Speculation mounted on Wednesday, after Bloomberg reported that the ECB is planning unlimited purchases of government bonds with maturities of up to three years, without setting bond yield targets.
France saw bond yields fall at an auction of five- and 10-year government bonds on Thursday, while Spain also saw borrowing costs decline at an auction of two-, three- and four-year government bonds.
The euro was little changed after official data showed that the euro zone’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
The single currency was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.03% to 0.7926.
The Bank of England was to hold its monthly policy-setting meeting later Thursday, but the bank was widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.50% and leave the size of its asset purchase program unchanged.
The euro pushed higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY rising 0.17% to trade at 98.92 and inched up against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF edging up 0.07% to 1.2049.
The shared currency was broadly lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with EUR/AUD down 0.42% to 1.2310, EUR/NZD sliding 0.17% to 1.5826 and EUR/CAD dipping 0.07% to 1.2472.
In Australia, official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to 5.1% in August from 5.2% in July, defying expectations for an increase to 5.3%.
However, the number of people employed fell by 8,800 last month, disappointing expectations for an increase of 5,000.
The U.S. was to release a report on ADP non-farm payrolls later in the session, followed by weekly government data on unemployment claims. The country was also to release a report by the Institute for Supply Management on service sector activity.