Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies on Wednesday as fears over sovereign debt in the euro zone ebbed, and in the wake of worse-than-expected data on the U.S. trade deficit.
The greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.13% to hit 1.2677 after Spain's prime minister pledged to cut state employees' wages and slash investment spending in order to combat his country's budget deficit.
Also Wednesday, a Commerce Department report showed that U.S. trade shortfall increased 2.5% to USD 40.4 billion from February.
The dollar also slipped versus the Swiss franc and loonie, with USD/CHF shedding 0.33% to hit 1.1081 and USD/CAD dropping 0.52% to hit 1.0165.
But the greenback strengthened against the yen and sterling, with USD/JPY rising 0.45% to reach 93.07 and GBP/USD sliding 0.69% to hit 1.4852. Cable fell earlier in the day after official data showed that the number of people unemployed in Britain rose by 53,000 to 2.51 million during the three months to March.
The greenback was also up against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts: AUD/USD slid 0.06% to hit 0.8947, and NZD/USD slipped 0.15% to reach 0.7154.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.04%.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Germany's economy, the euro zone's largest, unexpectedly expanded in the first three months of the year, spurred by company investment and exports.
The greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.13% to hit 1.2677 after Spain's prime minister pledged to cut state employees' wages and slash investment spending in order to combat his country's budget deficit.
Also Wednesday, a Commerce Department report showed that U.S. trade shortfall increased 2.5% to USD 40.4 billion from February.
The dollar also slipped versus the Swiss franc and loonie, with USD/CHF shedding 0.33% to hit 1.1081 and USD/CAD dropping 0.52% to hit 1.0165.
But the greenback strengthened against the yen and sterling, with USD/JPY rising 0.45% to reach 93.07 and GBP/USD sliding 0.69% to hit 1.4852. Cable fell earlier in the day after official data showed that the number of people unemployed in Britain rose by 53,000 to 2.51 million during the three months to March.
The greenback was also up against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts: AUD/USD slid 0.06% to hit 0.8947, and NZD/USD slipped 0.15% to reach 0.7154.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.04%.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Germany's economy, the euro zone's largest, unexpectedly expanded in the first three months of the year, spurred by company investment and exports.