Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained lower against most of its major counterparts on Thursday, as trading volumes were expected to be light ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend while the threat of mass credit ratings downgrades for euro zone countries lingered.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to hit 1.3069.
The single currency came under pressure earlier as the heavy demand met by the European Central Bank’s three-year loan operation on Wednesday indicated that lenders believe funding problems are likely to persist into 2012.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was to hold a confidence vote on approving a much needed EUR33 billion emergency austerity package.
The package passed in the lower house last week and was expected to pass without much resistance in the upper house.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.15% to hit 1.5700.
The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said earlier that the country’s economy expanded 0.6% during the third quarter, up from a preliminary estimate of 0.5%. Annualized GDP rose at a rate of 0.5%, in line with expectations and unrevised from an initial estimate.
Separately, the ONS said that the country’s current account deficit widened to GBP15.2 billion in the third quarter, the highest since records began in 1955. Economists had expected the current account deficit to stand at GBP5.5 billion.
The greenback was steady against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY easing up 0.02% to hit 78.08 and USD/CHF edging 0.04% higher to hit 0.9361.
Earlier Thursday, Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said a panel from the government and the central bank is examining options such as capital controls and negative interest rates to curb the Swiss franc’s strength.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan warned that the country's recovery has stalled as business sentiment deteriorated in the wake of weaker export demand.
The greenback was sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD declining 0.21% to hit 1.0245, AUD/USD climbing 0.29% to hit 1.0134 and NZD/USD advancing 0.25% to hit 0.7724.
In New Zealand, official data showed that the country’s GDP rose 0.8% in the third quarter, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain. New Zealand’s GDP grew by an unrevised 0.1% in the previous quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, retreated 0.21% to hit 80.18.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as revised data on third quarter GDP. The University of Michigan was also to release revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to hit 1.3069.
The single currency came under pressure earlier as the heavy demand met by the European Central Bank’s three-year loan operation on Wednesday indicated that lenders believe funding problems are likely to persist into 2012.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was to hold a confidence vote on approving a much needed EUR33 billion emergency austerity package.
The package passed in the lower house last week and was expected to pass without much resistance in the upper house.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.15% to hit 1.5700.
The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said earlier that the country’s economy expanded 0.6% during the third quarter, up from a preliminary estimate of 0.5%. Annualized GDP rose at a rate of 0.5%, in line with expectations and unrevised from an initial estimate.
Separately, the ONS said that the country’s current account deficit widened to GBP15.2 billion in the third quarter, the highest since records began in 1955. Economists had expected the current account deficit to stand at GBP5.5 billion.
The greenback was steady against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY easing up 0.02% to hit 78.08 and USD/CHF edging 0.04% higher to hit 0.9361.
Earlier Thursday, Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said a panel from the government and the central bank is examining options such as capital controls and negative interest rates to curb the Swiss franc’s strength.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan warned that the country's recovery has stalled as business sentiment deteriorated in the wake of weaker export demand.
The greenback was sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD declining 0.21% to hit 1.0245, AUD/USD climbing 0.29% to hit 1.0134 and NZD/USD advancing 0.25% to hit 0.7724.
In New Zealand, official data showed that the country’s GDP rose 0.8% in the third quarter, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain. New Zealand’s GDP grew by an unrevised 0.1% in the previous quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, retreated 0.21% to hit 80.18.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as revised data on third quarter GDP. The University of Michigan was also to release revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.