Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Thursday, as concerns over a debt default by Greece eased but investors remained wary ahead of an auction of Spanish government debt later in the day.
During European morning trade, the greenback was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to hit 1.3770.
The single currency firmed up after French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint statement late Wednesday saying they were “convinced the future of Greece is in the euro zone.”
The statement came after the leaders held a telephone conference with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Spain’s Treasury was expected to auction up to EUR4 billion in three-year bonds later in the day and was expected to pay a heavy premium after Italy saw borrowing costs surge to euro-lifetime highs in a debt auction earlier in the week.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.12% to hit 1.5787.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that retail sales in the U.K. declined in line with expectations in August, slipping 0.2%.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY inching up 0.09% to hit 76.71 and USD/CHF adding 0.10% to hit 0.8765.
The Swiss National Bank said earlier that it had left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at zero for September and reiterated its commitment to defend the minimum exchange rate of 1.20 per euro” with utmost determination.”
Elsewhere, official data showed that Swiss industrial production rose more-than-expected in the second quarter.
The greenback was also higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD climbing 0.23% to hit 0.9916, AUD/USD shedding 0.30% to hit 1.0252 and NZD/USD falling 0.51% to hit 0.8191.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5% and indicated that rates are likely remain on hold in the coming months, amid risks that the global recovery could slow “sharply.”
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.07% to hit 77.31.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish a string of data, with government reports on consumer price inflation, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims. The country was also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in New York and Philadelphia and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.
During European morning trade, the greenback was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to hit 1.3770.
The single currency firmed up after French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint statement late Wednesday saying they were “convinced the future of Greece is in the euro zone.”
The statement came after the leaders held a telephone conference with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Spain’s Treasury was expected to auction up to EUR4 billion in three-year bonds later in the day and was expected to pay a heavy premium after Italy saw borrowing costs surge to euro-lifetime highs in a debt auction earlier in the week.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.12% to hit 1.5787.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that retail sales in the U.K. declined in line with expectations in August, slipping 0.2%.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY inching up 0.09% to hit 76.71 and USD/CHF adding 0.10% to hit 0.8765.
The Swiss National Bank said earlier that it had left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at zero for September and reiterated its commitment to defend the minimum exchange rate of 1.20 per euro” with utmost determination.”
Elsewhere, official data showed that Swiss industrial production rose more-than-expected in the second quarter.
The greenback was also higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD climbing 0.23% to hit 0.9916, AUD/USD shedding 0.30% to hit 1.0252 and NZD/USD falling 0.51% to hit 0.8191.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5% and indicated that rates are likely remain on hold in the coming months, amid risks that the global recovery could slow “sharply.”
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.07% to hit 77.31.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish a string of data, with government reports on consumer price inflation, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims. The country was also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in New York and Philadelphia and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.