Investing.com - The U.S. dollar turned lower against its major counterparts on Thursday, as speculation that the Greek government may collapse slightly eased concerns over the country's bailout referendum, boosting demand for riskier assets.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.42% to hit 1.3806.
Earlier in the day, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said he was opposed to the planned referendum on the country's bailout deal.
A government confidence vote was scheduled on Friday, fueling speculation that the referendum will be canceled if current Prime Minister George Papandreou loses the vote.
Meanwhile, the greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.43% to hit 1.6018.
A report showed earlier that activity in the U.K. service sector moderated in October but growth remained above the level that separates expansion from contraction for the tenth successive month.
The greenback was also slightly lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging down 0.06% to hit 77.99, and USD/CHF shedding 0.44% to hit 0.8803.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.34% to hit 1.0103, AUD/USD advancing 0.24% to hit 1.0372 and NZD/USD rising 0.08% to hit 0.7921.
In Australia, official data showed that retail sales rose less-than-expected in September, ticking up 0.4% after a 0.6% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed that employment in New Zealand rose less-than-expected in the third quarter and that the unemployment rate advanced to 6.6%, up from 6.5% in the second quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.39% to hit 76.99.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, climbing by 397,000 after a 406,000 increase the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 401,000 last week.
Later in the day, the European Central Bank was to hold its first policy setting meeting chaired by new head, Mario Draghi. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to produce a report on service sector activity from the Institute of Supply Management.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.42% to hit 1.3806.
Earlier in the day, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said he was opposed to the planned referendum on the country's bailout deal.
A government confidence vote was scheduled on Friday, fueling speculation that the referendum will be canceled if current Prime Minister George Papandreou loses the vote.
Meanwhile, the greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.43% to hit 1.6018.
A report showed earlier that activity in the U.K. service sector moderated in October but growth remained above the level that separates expansion from contraction for the tenth successive month.
The greenback was also slightly lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging down 0.06% to hit 77.99, and USD/CHF shedding 0.44% to hit 0.8803.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.34% to hit 1.0103, AUD/USD advancing 0.24% to hit 1.0372 and NZD/USD rising 0.08% to hit 0.7921.
In Australia, official data showed that retail sales rose less-than-expected in September, ticking up 0.4% after a 0.6% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed that employment in New Zealand rose less-than-expected in the third quarter and that the unemployment rate advanced to 6.6%, up from 6.5% in the second quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.39% to hit 76.99.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, climbing by 397,000 after a 406,000 increase the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 401,000 last week.
Later in the day, the European Central Bank was to hold its first policy setting meeting chaired by new head, Mario Draghi. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to produce a report on service sector activity from the Institute of Supply Management.