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Forex - U.S. dollar lower on euro zone data, Greece hopes

Published 02/01/2012, 02:33 PM
Updated 02/01/2012, 02:35 PM
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Investing.com - The U.S. dollar gained against its major counterparts Wednesday, as Greece moves closer to a debt deal and global manufacturing surges easing economic slowdown worries.
 
During late session U.S. trade, the dollar lost ground against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.61% to hit 1.3164.
 
The euro gained against the greenback after data indicated that the euro zone`s manufacturing purchasing managers` index climbed to 48.8, beating estimates of 46.9 in December.
 
However, the data indicated that only Germany posted a reading above 50, signaling economic expansion.
 
The single currency was also supported as word from the Greek debt talks indicates that progress is being made in terms of a sweetener tied to a revival in economic growth that would soften the blow of lower bond interest rates. Investors are awaiting additional details.
 
Meanwhile, in the United States, the Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. manufacturing index climbed to 54.1 in January from 53.1 in December. 50 is the dividing line between economic growth and contraction.
 
However, the number did miss the consensus estimate of 54.5% per a Bloomberg survey.
 
Payroll processing firm, ADP reported that non farm private payrolls climbed to a seasonally adjusted 170,000 in January, missing expectations for an increase of 190,000.
 
The ADP report is widely considered a precursor to the much watched official non farm payroll data released on Friday
 
In other news, manufacturing increased in China with the official purchasing managers index growing to 50.5 in January from 50.3 in December, beating the consensus forecast for a sub 50 reading.
 
The greenback traded lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.49% to hit 1.5836.
 
The U.K. also posted improvement with their manufacturing index soaring to an eight month high in January.
 
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen but lower against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY gaining 0.05% to 76.30 and USD/CHF falling 0.54% to hit 0.9152.
 
Swiss retail sales climbed less than expected in December, while manufacturing activity surprisingly slowed during the same period,
 
The greenback was weaker against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD falling 0.41% to hit 0.9984, AUD/USD climbing 0.83% to hit 1.0711 and NZD/USD adding 0.74% to 0.8328.
 
In a speech earlier, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard issued a warning to exporters that the high level of the domestic was likely to continue in the long term.
 
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gave back 0.57% to hit 78.98.




 

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