Investing.com – The U.S. dollar edged higher against almost all of its major counterparts on Wednesday, amid uncertainty ahead of a scheduled conference call between the leaders of Greece, France and Germany to discuss progress on Greece’s bailout.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.06% to hit 1.3669.
The euro found support earlier as concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone eased after European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds.
However, he warned that the measure alone would not be enough to end the region’s debt crisis and reiterated that Germany remained strongly opposed to the move.
The greenback also edged up against the pound, with GBP/USD sliding 0.08% to hit 1.5765.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected in August, but the pound remained under pressure after the report showed that the number of people without work on the wider ILO measure showed its biggest rise in two years in the three months to July.
But the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.33% to hit 76.68 and USD/CHF slipping 0.23% to hit 0.8782.
In Switzerland, government data showed that producer and import prices dropped by the most in 33 months in August, on the back of the stronger franc and lower oil prices.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD climbing 0.59% to hit 0.9915, AUD/USD tumbling 0.92% to hit 1.0217 and NZD/USD sliding 0.12% to hit 0.8216.
The Aussie’s losses came after revised data showed that consumer price inflation rose by 0.6% in the second quarter. At the end of July, the Australian Statistics Bureau said CPI rose by 0.9% in the three months to June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.13% to hit 77.68.
Also Wednesday, the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales were flat in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain.
A separate report from the Department of Labor showed U.S. producer prices were unchanged last month, as lower oil prices offset rising food costs.
During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.06% to hit 1.3669.
The euro found support earlier as concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone eased after European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds.
However, he warned that the measure alone would not be enough to end the region’s debt crisis and reiterated that Germany remained strongly opposed to the move.
The greenback also edged up against the pound, with GBP/USD sliding 0.08% to hit 1.5765.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected in August, but the pound remained under pressure after the report showed that the number of people without work on the wider ILO measure showed its biggest rise in two years in the three months to July.
But the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.33% to hit 76.68 and USD/CHF slipping 0.23% to hit 0.8782.
In Switzerland, government data showed that producer and import prices dropped by the most in 33 months in August, on the back of the stronger franc and lower oil prices.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD climbing 0.59% to hit 0.9915, AUD/USD tumbling 0.92% to hit 1.0217 and NZD/USD sliding 0.12% to hit 0.8216.
The Aussie’s losses came after revised data showed that consumer price inflation rose by 0.6% in the second quarter. At the end of July, the Australian Statistics Bureau said CPI rose by 0.9% in the three months to June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.13% to hit 77.68.
Also Wednesday, the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales were flat in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain.
A separate report from the Department of Labor showed U.S. producer prices were unchanged last month, as lower oil prices offset rising food costs.