Investing.com - The U.S. dollar turned broadly higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as risk aversion mounted ahead of a keenly anticipated statement from European Union leaders.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.51% to hit 1.3834.
Expectations that European leaders would unveil a plan to contain the debt crisis in the region were tempered after Bloomberg reported that talks between EU officials and banks over Greek bonds were deadlocked, citing an unidentified EU official.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.64% to hit 1.5899.
Earlier in the day, Bank of England policymaker Adam Posen said the GBP75 billion of quantitative easing the central bank injected into the economy earlier this month was the right amount of monetary stimulus given the deteriorating economic outlook.
Elsewhere, the greenback was close to an all-time low against the yen but was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dropping 0.13% to hit 75.99 and USD/CHF advancing 0.58% to hit 0.8830.
Speculation over an intervention in the foreign exchange market by Japan mounted after Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi said earlier that he would not rule out any possible measure to curb the appreciation of the yen and added that he has instructed finance ministry officials to "make preparations so that we can act in response to anything."
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against its Canadian counterpart but strengthened against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD tumbling 0.76% to hit 1.0087, AUD/USD falling 0.68% to hit 1.0358 and NZD/USD shedding 0.45% to hit 0.7934.
Earlier Wednesday, the Bank of Canada's monetary policy report indicated that the bank was likely to keep rates on hold, amid concerns over the medium term outlook for growth.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.33% to hit 76.64.
The greenback was broadly unchanged earlier after government data showed that orders for long lasting manufactured goods fell more-than-expected in September, declining for the second successive month.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, after falling by an unrevised 0.1% in August, surpassing expectations for a 0.7% decline.
But core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, jumped by a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in September, blowing past expectations for a 0.5% increase.
A separate report showed that U.S. new home sales rose by 5.7% to a seasonally adjusted 313,000 units in September, outstripping expectations for a 1.7% increase.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.51% to hit 1.3834.
Expectations that European leaders would unveil a plan to contain the debt crisis in the region were tempered after Bloomberg reported that talks between EU officials and banks over Greek bonds were deadlocked, citing an unidentified EU official.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.64% to hit 1.5899.
Earlier in the day, Bank of England policymaker Adam Posen said the GBP75 billion of quantitative easing the central bank injected into the economy earlier this month was the right amount of monetary stimulus given the deteriorating economic outlook.
Elsewhere, the greenback was close to an all-time low against the yen but was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dropping 0.13% to hit 75.99 and USD/CHF advancing 0.58% to hit 0.8830.
Speculation over an intervention in the foreign exchange market by Japan mounted after Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi said earlier that he would not rule out any possible measure to curb the appreciation of the yen and added that he has instructed finance ministry officials to "make preparations so that we can act in response to anything."
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against its Canadian counterpart but strengthened against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD tumbling 0.76% to hit 1.0087, AUD/USD falling 0.68% to hit 1.0358 and NZD/USD shedding 0.45% to hit 0.7934.
Earlier Wednesday, the Bank of Canada's monetary policy report indicated that the bank was likely to keep rates on hold, amid concerns over the medium term outlook for growth.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.33% to hit 76.64.
The greenback was broadly unchanged earlier after government data showed that orders for long lasting manufactured goods fell more-than-expected in September, declining for the second successive month.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, after falling by an unrevised 0.1% in August, surpassing expectations for a 0.7% decline.
But core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, jumped by a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in September, blowing past expectations for a 0.5% increase.
A separate report showed that U.S. new home sales rose by 5.7% to a seasonally adjusted 313,000 units in September, outstripping expectations for a 1.7% increase.