Investing.com - The dollar was stronger than most major currencies in Asian trading on Thursday as investors sought safety in the greenback on nervous anticipation of a Spanish bond auction.
The euro was steady to lower against the dollar in Asian trading Thursday, with EUR/USD down 0.03% and trading at 1.3118 in very choppy trading.
Spain had currency markets on edge early Thursday in Asia.
Earlier in the week, the Spanish government sold at auction 12-month and 18-month bills with no major difficulties, and while yields were high at 2.623%, the country did raise over EUR3 billion, above target although the high borrowing costs frayed nerves.
However, the closely-watched 2-year and 10-year auction on Thursday will shed light on market confidence in Spain's ability to tackle deficits amid a recession and steer its economy to better days.
Meanwhile, Spain's central bank reported that the level of bad loans held by domestic banks rose to an 18-year high on February.
The pound did see support against the greenback with the release of the minutes of the Bank of England’s April meeting.
Only one policymaker favored monetary easing, down from two of the nine-member group in March.
The hawkish tone out of the Bank of England suggested growing confidence among monetary policy members over the pace of recovery.
On the U.K. labor front, the government reported demand for unemployment benefits rose less than expected in March.
Japan, meanwhile, reported a JPY82.5 billion trade deficit in March, which sent the yen down against the greenback.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.04% and trading at 1.3028.
The U.S. currency was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.33% at 81.52, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.07% and trading at 0.9165.
The dollar was down against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.03% at 0.9910, AUD/USD up 0.01% at 1.0358 and NZD/USD up 0.17% at 0.8174.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05% at 79.75.
Later Thursday, the U.S. is to produce government data on unemployment claims, followed by industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
The euro was steady to lower against the dollar in Asian trading Thursday, with EUR/USD down 0.03% and trading at 1.3118 in very choppy trading.
Spain had currency markets on edge early Thursday in Asia.
Earlier in the week, the Spanish government sold at auction 12-month and 18-month bills with no major difficulties, and while yields were high at 2.623%, the country did raise over EUR3 billion, above target although the high borrowing costs frayed nerves.
However, the closely-watched 2-year and 10-year auction on Thursday will shed light on market confidence in Spain's ability to tackle deficits amid a recession and steer its economy to better days.
Meanwhile, Spain's central bank reported that the level of bad loans held by domestic banks rose to an 18-year high on February.
The pound did see support against the greenback with the release of the minutes of the Bank of England’s April meeting.
Only one policymaker favored monetary easing, down from two of the nine-member group in March.
The hawkish tone out of the Bank of England suggested growing confidence among monetary policy members over the pace of recovery.
On the U.K. labor front, the government reported demand for unemployment benefits rose less than expected in March.
Japan, meanwhile, reported a JPY82.5 billion trade deficit in March, which sent the yen down against the greenback.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.04% and trading at 1.3028.
The U.S. currency was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.33% at 81.52, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.07% and trading at 0.9165.
The dollar was down against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.03% at 0.9910, AUD/USD up 0.01% at 1.0358 and NZD/USD up 0.17% at 0.8174.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05% at 79.75.
Later Thursday, the U.S. is to produce government data on unemployment claims, followed by industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.