Investing.com - The U.S. dollar extended steep losses against its major counterparts on Thursday, as stronger-than-expected U.S. third quarter GDP data and an agreement by European leaders on a plan to tackle the debt crisis in the euro zone curbed demand for the safe-haven greenback.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 1.89% to hit 1.4169.
The euro strengthened broadly earlier after European leaders announced that they reached an agreement with banks to take a 50% writedown on the face value of their Greek debt holdings, easing pressure on the debt-laden country.
Leaders agreed to enhance the size of the European Financial Stability Facility to EUR1 trillion, while a plan to recapitalize the region’s banks was also agreed upon.
Meanwhile, the greenback was hovering just above a new all-time low against the yen, with USD/JPY shedding 0.44% to hit 75.83.
Earlier Thursday, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi reiterated that his country would take decisive action against excessive yen moves.
In addition, the Bank of Japan announced additional monetary easing to help lower the yen. The central bank expanded its asset purchase program by JPY5 trillion to JPY55 trillion yen and kept the overnight lending rate at 0.1%.
The greenback was also lower against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD rising 0.59% to hit 1.6069 and USD/CHF falling 2.19% to hit 0.8614.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dropping 0.94% to hit 0.9946, AUD/USD surging 2.23% to hit 1.0679 and NZD/USD jumping 2.19% to hit 0.8186.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its interest rate unchanged at 2.50% earlier, saying that recovery needs more stimulus in order to get back on track before the end of the year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 1.57% to hit a four-and-a-half month low of 75.24.
The greenback extended losses after the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a preliminary report that gross domestic product rose by 2.5% in the third quarter, the fastest rate of increase since the third quarter of 2010.
The reading nearly doubled growth of 1.3% recorded in the preceding quarter. Analysts had expected U.S. gross domestic product to rise 2.4% in the third quarter.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims fell slightly less-than-expected last week, declining to 402K, disappointing expectations for a decrease to 400K.
A separate report showed that U.S. pending home sales fell for the third consecutive month in September, declining by 4.6%. Analysts had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.2%.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 1.89% to hit 1.4169.
The euro strengthened broadly earlier after European leaders announced that they reached an agreement with banks to take a 50% writedown on the face value of their Greek debt holdings, easing pressure on the debt-laden country.
Leaders agreed to enhance the size of the European Financial Stability Facility to EUR1 trillion, while a plan to recapitalize the region’s banks was also agreed upon.
Meanwhile, the greenback was hovering just above a new all-time low against the yen, with USD/JPY shedding 0.44% to hit 75.83.
Earlier Thursday, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi reiterated that his country would take decisive action against excessive yen moves.
In addition, the Bank of Japan announced additional monetary easing to help lower the yen. The central bank expanded its asset purchase program by JPY5 trillion to JPY55 trillion yen and kept the overnight lending rate at 0.1%.
The greenback was also lower against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD rising 0.59% to hit 1.6069 and USD/CHF falling 2.19% to hit 0.8614.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dropping 0.94% to hit 0.9946, AUD/USD surging 2.23% to hit 1.0679 and NZD/USD jumping 2.19% to hit 0.8186.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its interest rate unchanged at 2.50% earlier, saying that recovery needs more stimulus in order to get back on track before the end of the year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 1.57% to hit a four-and-a-half month low of 75.24.
The greenback extended losses after the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a preliminary report that gross domestic product rose by 2.5% in the third quarter, the fastest rate of increase since the third quarter of 2010.
The reading nearly doubled growth of 1.3% recorded in the preceding quarter. Analysts had expected U.S. gross domestic product to rise 2.4% in the third quarter.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims fell slightly less-than-expected last week, declining to 402K, disappointing expectations for a decrease to 400K.
A separate report showed that U.S. pending home sales fell for the third consecutive month in September, declining by 4.6%. Analysts had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.2%.