Forex - Dollar lower vs. rivals after upbeat Chinese GDP data

Published 01/17/2012, 04:38 AM
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Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Tuesday, as risk sentiment found support after positive growth data from China eased concerns over the global effects of the euro zone’s debt crisis.

During European morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.77% to hit 1.2765.

Chinese gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 8.9% in the fourth quarter, slowing from the previous quarter’s 9.1% rate, but slightly better than expectations for an 8.8% increase.

The data overshadowed a move by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the triple-A rating of the euro zone’s bailout fund by one notch, following Friday’s downgrade of nine euro zone sovereigns, including France.

Meanwhile, the threat of a default by Greece continued, as talks aimed at negotiating a restructuring of the country’s debts remained deadlocked, amid disagreements over a bond swap with private creditors.

The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.27% to hit 1.5369.

Official data showed earlier that consumer price inflation in the U.K. rose 4.2% in December, in line with expectations, after a 4.8% increase the previous month.

Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.19% to hit 76.63 and USD/CHF declining 0.70% to hit 0.9475.

Earlier Tuesday, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa met with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to discuss the euro zone’s debt crisis and recent developments in global financial markets.

Meanwhile, data showed that tertiary industry activity in Japan declined more-than-expected in November, falling 0.8% after a 0.7% rise the previous month.

Analysts had expected tertiary industry activity to fall 0.3% in November. 

The greenback was lower against its Canadian Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.56% to hit 1.0122, AUD/USD jumping 1.15% to hit 1.0429 and NZD/USD climbing 0.95% to hit 0.8012.

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research said earlier its index of business confidence fell to zero in the fourth quarter from a reading of 25 the previous quarter.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, retreated 0.55% to hit 81.21.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce a report on manufacturing activity in New York State.


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