Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as optimism over the outcome of talks aimed at averting a Greek default and reports that the International Monetary Fund is attempting to enlarge its lending capacity bolstered risk appetite.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.63% to hit 1.2814.
The euro was bolstered by reports that the International Monetary Fund wants to reach an agreement on enlarging its lending capacity to USD1 trillion to insulate the global economy from the effects of the financial crisis in the single currency bloc.
The single currency also found support after Reuters reported that an analyst at Fitch said the agency did not expect Italy to default.
The euro had weakened in early trade after Fitch’s flagged a potential two-notch downgrade for Italy.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was resuming talks with bond holders to discuss a voluntary write-down on Greece’s sovereign debt.
Greece needs to secure an agreement on restructuring its debt in order to access new bailout funds and avert a default when an EUR14.4 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.44% to hit 1.5400.
In the U.K., official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a 17-year high of 8.4% in December, from 8.3% the previous month.
The report also showed that the claimant count rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,200 in December, significantly below expectations for an increase of 8,000, indicating that the downturn in the labor market may be moderating.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the yen but was down against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.01% to hit 76.81 and USD/CHF shedding 0.58% to hit 0.9438.
A report earlier showed that the ZEW index of Swiss economic expectations rebounded to minus 50.1 this month, from minus 72.0 in December, the strongest increase since April 2011.
The greenback was also lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.10% to hit 1.0140, AUD/USD easing up 0.07% to hit 1.0384 and NZD/USD adding 0.61% to hit 0.8051.
In Australia, a report earlier showed that consumer sentiment rose just 2.4% in January after an 8.3% decline the previous month, indicating that a series of rate cuts by the country’s central bank at the end of last year have not significantly boosted the overall economic outlook.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.50% to hit 80.95.
Also Wednesday, U.S. data showed that producer price inflation declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December, confounding expectations for a 0.1% gain.
Core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3% last month, taking the annualized rate to 3.0%, the fastest increase since mid-2009.
A separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. rose less-than-expected in December, while the previous month’s figure was downwardly revised to show a bigger decline.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.63% to hit 1.2814.
The euro was bolstered by reports that the International Monetary Fund wants to reach an agreement on enlarging its lending capacity to USD1 trillion to insulate the global economy from the effects of the financial crisis in the single currency bloc.
The single currency also found support after Reuters reported that an analyst at Fitch said the agency did not expect Italy to default.
The euro had weakened in early trade after Fitch’s flagged a potential two-notch downgrade for Italy.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was resuming talks with bond holders to discuss a voluntary write-down on Greece’s sovereign debt.
Greece needs to secure an agreement on restructuring its debt in order to access new bailout funds and avert a default when an EUR14.4 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.44% to hit 1.5400.
In the U.K., official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a 17-year high of 8.4% in December, from 8.3% the previous month.
The report also showed that the claimant count rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,200 in December, significantly below expectations for an increase of 8,000, indicating that the downturn in the labor market may be moderating.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the yen but was down against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.01% to hit 76.81 and USD/CHF shedding 0.58% to hit 0.9438.
A report earlier showed that the ZEW index of Swiss economic expectations rebounded to minus 50.1 this month, from minus 72.0 in December, the strongest increase since April 2011.
The greenback was also lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.10% to hit 1.0140, AUD/USD easing up 0.07% to hit 1.0384 and NZD/USD adding 0.61% to hit 0.8051.
In Australia, a report earlier showed that consumer sentiment rose just 2.4% in January after an 8.3% decline the previous month, indicating that a series of rate cuts by the country’s central bank at the end of last year have not significantly boosted the overall economic outlook.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.50% to hit 80.95.
Also Wednesday, U.S. data showed that producer price inflation declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December, confounding expectations for a 0.1% gain.
Core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3% last month, taking the annualized rate to 3.0%, the fastest increase since mid-2009.
A separate report showed that industrial production in the U.S. rose less-than-expected in December, while the previous month’s figure was downwardly revised to show a bigger decline.