Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was up against the euro and the pound on Wednesday, as concerns over euro zone sovereign debt hurt the single currency while lower growth forecasts and dovish Bank of England meeting minutes weighed on the pound.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.53% to hit 1.4120.
The fate of Portugal’s minority government was hinging on a vote on austerity measures later in the day, fanning fears that the country would follow Ireland and Greece in seeking an international bailout.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD tumbling 0.71% to hit 1.6246.
Earlier in the day, the U.K. Office for Budget Responsibility said it now expected economic growth of 1.7% in 2011, down from November’s 2.1% forecast.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Bank of England’s most recent policy setting meeting showed the bank saw “merit in waiting” to examine the effect of higher oil prices, dampening speculation over an interest rate hike by the bank in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the greenback was fractionally lower against the yen but was up against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.03% to hit 81.91 and USD/CHF rising 0.43% to hit 0.9072.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD edging up 0.12% to hit 0.9820, AUD/USD dipping 0.03% to hit 1.0100 and NZD/USD easing down 0.06% to hit 0.7395.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.44%.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales dropped 16.9% to a seasonally adjusted 250,000 unit annual rate, the lowest since records began in 1963, from an upwardly revised 301,000-unit pace in January.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.53% to hit 1.4120.
The fate of Portugal’s minority government was hinging on a vote on austerity measures later in the day, fanning fears that the country would follow Ireland and Greece in seeking an international bailout.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD tumbling 0.71% to hit 1.6246.
Earlier in the day, the U.K. Office for Budget Responsibility said it now expected economic growth of 1.7% in 2011, down from November’s 2.1% forecast.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Bank of England’s most recent policy setting meeting showed the bank saw “merit in waiting” to examine the effect of higher oil prices, dampening speculation over an interest rate hike by the bank in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the greenback was fractionally lower against the yen but was up against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.03% to hit 81.91 and USD/CHF rising 0.43% to hit 0.9072.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD edging up 0.12% to hit 0.9820, AUD/USD dipping 0.03% to hit 1.0100 and NZD/USD easing down 0.06% to hit 0.7395.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.44%.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales dropped 16.9% to a seasonally adjusted 250,000 unit annual rate, the lowest since records began in 1963, from an upwardly revised 301,000-unit pace in January.