Investing.com - The U.S. dollar trimmed losses against its major counterparts on Tuesday, as ongoing concerns over the deepening debt crisis in the euro zone weighed on the euro and curbed demand for higher yielding assets.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.05% to hit 1.2772.
Markets remained jittery ahead of the outcome of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund President Christine Lagarde to discuss Greece’s bailout.
The euro found support earlier after ratings agency Fitch said that France, the euro zone's second largest economy, would not be downgraded in 2012.
But Fitches’ warned that Italy still faced a significant chance for a rating’s downgrade, in the absence of significant measures to arrest the spread of the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.
The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds remained above the 7% threshold seen as unsustainable, at 7.17%, while the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 5.57% ahead of government bond auctions by the two countries later in the week.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.11% to hit 1.5475.
In the U.K., industry data showed that house showed prices fell at a marginally slower pace in the three months to December, with prices expected to continue falling in the coming months.
A separate report showed that U.K. retail sales jumped in December, but retailers expect another difficult year in 2012.
The greenback was unchanged against the yen and inched higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY trading at 76.84 and USD/CHF easing up 0.05% to hit 0.9500.
On Monday, the Swiss National Bank reiterated that it was ready to defend the 1.20 exchange rate floor against the euro with the “utmost determination,” following the abrupt resignation of Phillip Hildebrand as central bank chairman in the wake of a controversial currency trade made by his wife, just weeks before the SNB intervened to curb the appreciation of the currency.
The greenback was broadly lower against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD shedding 0.53% to hit 1.0179, AUD/USD up 0.86% to hit 1.0328 and NZD/USD surging 0.97% to hit 0.7947.
Earlier in the day, data showed that Canadian housing starts rose more-than-expected in December.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.11% to hit 81.21.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that French industrial production rose 1.1% in November, defying expectations for no change.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.05% to hit 1.2772.
Markets remained jittery ahead of the outcome of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund President Christine Lagarde to discuss Greece’s bailout.
The euro found support earlier after ratings agency Fitch said that France, the euro zone's second largest economy, would not be downgraded in 2012.
But Fitches’ warned that Italy still faced a significant chance for a rating’s downgrade, in the absence of significant measures to arrest the spread of the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.
The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds remained above the 7% threshold seen as unsustainable, at 7.17%, while the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 5.57% ahead of government bond auctions by the two countries later in the week.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.11% to hit 1.5475.
In the U.K., industry data showed that house showed prices fell at a marginally slower pace in the three months to December, with prices expected to continue falling in the coming months.
A separate report showed that U.K. retail sales jumped in December, but retailers expect another difficult year in 2012.
The greenback was unchanged against the yen and inched higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY trading at 76.84 and USD/CHF easing up 0.05% to hit 0.9500.
On Monday, the Swiss National Bank reiterated that it was ready to defend the 1.20 exchange rate floor against the euro with the “utmost determination,” following the abrupt resignation of Phillip Hildebrand as central bank chairman in the wake of a controversial currency trade made by his wife, just weeks before the SNB intervened to curb the appreciation of the currency.
The greenback was broadly lower against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD shedding 0.53% to hit 1.0179, AUD/USD up 0.86% to hit 1.0328 and NZD/USD surging 0.97% to hit 0.7947.
Earlier in the day, data showed that Canadian housing starts rose more-than-expected in December.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.11% to hit 81.21.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that French industrial production rose 1.1% in November, defying expectations for no change.