Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was up against all of it’s major counterparts on Thursday, after S&P cut Japan's sovereign debt ratings, prompting a sharp rise in the dollar and pushing the euro off a two-month high.
During European morning trade, the greenback was sharply higher against the yen with USD/JPY surging 0.72% to hit 82.75.
Earlier in the day, S&P lowered its credit rating on Japan to AA- from AA, citing concerns over the country’s high fiscal deficits.
The greenback was also up against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.15% to hit 1.3692.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 0.25% and said it would see its USD600 billion bond-purchasing plan through to completion in June.
The greenback was also up against the pound and the Swiss franc with GBP/USD sliding 0.12% to hit 1.5912 and USD/CHF rising 0.32% to hit 0.9452.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD climbing 0.18% to hit 0.9957, AUD/USD tumbling 0.74% to hit 0.9915 and NZD/USD shedding 0.31% to hit 0.77.
Also Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.0%, in a widely expected decision.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.1%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims, as well as reports on durable goods orders and pending home sales.
During European morning trade, the greenback was sharply higher against the yen with USD/JPY surging 0.72% to hit 82.75.
Earlier in the day, S&P lowered its credit rating on Japan to AA- from AA, citing concerns over the country’s high fiscal deficits.
The greenback was also up against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.15% to hit 1.3692.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 0.25% and said it would see its USD600 billion bond-purchasing plan through to completion in June.
The greenback was also up against the pound and the Swiss franc with GBP/USD sliding 0.12% to hit 1.5912 and USD/CHF rising 0.32% to hit 0.9452.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD climbing 0.18% to hit 0.9957, AUD/USD tumbling 0.74% to hit 0.9915 and NZD/USD shedding 0.31% to hit 0.77.
Also Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.0%, in a widely expected decision.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.1%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims, as well as reports on durable goods orders and pending home sales.