Investing.com - The dollar softened against most major currencies on Wednesday as investors sold safe-haven dollars they acquired before Sandy, a hurricane that morphed into a post-tropical giant, wreaked havoc along the eastern seaboard.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.02% at 1.2960.
Sandy continues to dump snow and rain over the northeastern U.S. though the deadly storm surge has abated.
While the country continues to assess the damage, investors sold safe-harbor greenbacks and prepped to take up other positions to play clean up and recovery.
Markets were closed in the U.S. earlier.
Elsewhere, investors largely shrugged off the Bank of Japan's decision to expand its asset-purchasing program to JPY91 trillion from JPY80 trillion to further stimulate the economy.
The euro, gold and other higher yielding assets saw demand rise on news that Italy saw borrowing costs fall to their lowest levels since May 2011 at a government auction of five- and ten-year debt.
However, investors didn't totally embraced risk.
German data showed that the number of unemployed in Germany rose by 20,000 in October, compared to expectations for an increase of 10,000, which kept many in the safety of the U.S. currency.
The German unemployment rate rose to 6.9%, matching September’s rate, which was revised up from 6.8%.
The Spanish economy contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter, slightly better than expectations for 0.4% contraction, though the country still remains mired in recession.
On Friday, the U.S. will release its October jobs report and many investors opted to remain camped out in greenback positions to await the numbers.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD trading up 0.05% at 1.6081.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.11% at 79.54 and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.03% at 0.9320.
The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD trading up 0.01% at 0.9994, AUD/USD up 0.18% at 1.0384 and NZD/USD trading up 0.19% at 0.8224.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.02% at 79.99.
Later Wednesday in the U.S., payroll processing firm ADP is to release a report on nonfarm payrolls, a leading indicator of private-sector job creation.
The U.S. is also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in Chicago.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.02% at 1.2960.
Sandy continues to dump snow and rain over the northeastern U.S. though the deadly storm surge has abated.
While the country continues to assess the damage, investors sold safe-harbor greenbacks and prepped to take up other positions to play clean up and recovery.
Markets were closed in the U.S. earlier.
Elsewhere, investors largely shrugged off the Bank of Japan's decision to expand its asset-purchasing program to JPY91 trillion from JPY80 trillion to further stimulate the economy.
The euro, gold and other higher yielding assets saw demand rise on news that Italy saw borrowing costs fall to their lowest levels since May 2011 at a government auction of five- and ten-year debt.
However, investors didn't totally embraced risk.
German data showed that the number of unemployed in Germany rose by 20,000 in October, compared to expectations for an increase of 10,000, which kept many in the safety of the U.S. currency.
The German unemployment rate rose to 6.9%, matching September’s rate, which was revised up from 6.8%.
The Spanish economy contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter, slightly better than expectations for 0.4% contraction, though the country still remains mired in recession.
On Friday, the U.S. will release its October jobs report and many investors opted to remain camped out in greenback positions to await the numbers.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD trading up 0.05% at 1.6081.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.11% at 79.54 and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.03% at 0.9320.
The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD trading up 0.01% at 0.9994, AUD/USD up 0.18% at 1.0384 and NZD/USD trading up 0.19% at 0.8224.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.02% at 79.99.
Later Wednesday in the U.S., payroll processing firm ADP is to release a report on nonfarm payrolls, a leading indicator of private-sector job creation.
The U.S. is also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in Chicago.