Investing.com - The U.S. dollar extended losses against its major counterparts on Wednesday, following the release of U.S. data on producer price inflation.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.81% to hit 1.2839.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that PPI declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December, confounding expectations for a 0.1% gain, bringing the annualized rate to 4.8%.
But core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3% in December, taking the annualized rate of increase to 3.0%, the fastest increase since mid-2009.
The euro pushed higher earlier following media reports that the International Monetary Fund wants to reach an agreement on enlarging its lending capacity to USD1 trillion to insulate the global economy from the effects of the financial crisis in the single currency bloc.
The euro also found support after an auction of Portuguese government debt met with solid investor demand and lower yields earlier.
But investors remained jittery after Fitch’s flagged a potential two-notch downgrade for Italy.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.31% to hit 1.5380.
In the U.K., official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a 17-year high of 8.4% in December, from 8.3% the previous month.
The report also showed that the claimant count rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,200 in December, significantly below expectations for an increase of 8,000, indicating that the downturn in the labor market may be moderating.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.03% to hit 76.80 and USD/CHF tumbling 0.82% to hit 0.9417.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi warned against the appreciation of the yen earlier, signaling his readiness to curb the currency’s gains, although he said Japan could not intervene in the same way Switzerland has.
Elsewhere, a report showed that the ZEW index of Swiss economic expectations rebounded to minus 50.1 this month, from minus 72.0 in December, the strongest increase since April 2011.
The greenback was also down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.12% to hit 1.0138, AUD/USD easing up 0.13% to hit 1.0388 and NZD/USD surging 0.70% to hit 0.8058.
In Australia, report showed that consumer sentiment rose just 2.4% in January after an 8.3% decline the previous month, indicating that a series of rate cuts by the country’s central bank at the end of last year have not significantly boosted the economic overall outlook.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.53% to hit 80.91.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on industrial production.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.81% to hit 1.2839.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that PPI declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December, confounding expectations for a 0.1% gain, bringing the annualized rate to 4.8%.
But core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3% in December, taking the annualized rate of increase to 3.0%, the fastest increase since mid-2009.
The euro pushed higher earlier following media reports that the International Monetary Fund wants to reach an agreement on enlarging its lending capacity to USD1 trillion to insulate the global economy from the effects of the financial crisis in the single currency bloc.
The euro also found support after an auction of Portuguese government debt met with solid investor demand and lower yields earlier.
But investors remained jittery after Fitch’s flagged a potential two-notch downgrade for Italy.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.31% to hit 1.5380.
In the U.K., official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a 17-year high of 8.4% in December, from 8.3% the previous month.
The report also showed that the claimant count rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,200 in December, significantly below expectations for an increase of 8,000, indicating that the downturn in the labor market may be moderating.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.03% to hit 76.80 and USD/CHF tumbling 0.82% to hit 0.9417.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi warned against the appreciation of the yen earlier, signaling his readiness to curb the currency’s gains, although he said Japan could not intervene in the same way Switzerland has.
Elsewhere, a report showed that the ZEW index of Swiss economic expectations rebounded to minus 50.1 this month, from minus 72.0 in December, the strongest increase since April 2011.
The greenback was also down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.12% to hit 1.0138, AUD/USD easing up 0.13% to hit 1.0388 and NZD/USD surging 0.70% to hit 0.8058.
In Australia, report showed that consumer sentiment rose just 2.4% in January after an 8.3% decline the previous month, indicating that a series of rate cuts by the country’s central bank at the end of last year have not significantly boosted the economic overall outlook.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.53% to hit 80.91.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on industrial production.