Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was up against all of its major counterparts on Monday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said purchases of Treasuries beyond the USD600 billion announced last month were “certainly possible.”
During European early afternoon trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD plunging 0.86% to hit 1.3298.
In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" aired Sunday, Bernanke also said it could be four to five years before the U.S. returned to a more normal jobless rate but that the U.S. economy was not likely to fall back into a recession.
Meanwhile, earlier Monday data showed that investor confidence in the euro zone dropped significantly more-than-expected in December.
The greenback was also up against the pound with GBP/USD shedding 0.54% to hit 1.5684.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.33% to hit 82.82 and USD/CHF soaring 0.99% to hit 0.9833.
In addition, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.10% to hit 1.0048, AUD/USD shedding 0.51% to hit 0.9878 and NZD/USD dropping 0.63% to hit 0.7611.
Earlier in the day, data showed that Australian job advertising posted its seventh consecutive monthly rise in November.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.71%.
Later in the day, euro zone finance ministers were due to meet in Brussels to discuss the outlook for Portugal, while pressure mounted to increase the size of the EUR750 billion bailout fund in order to stem the debt crisis spreading through the shared currency bloc.
During European early afternoon trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD plunging 0.86% to hit 1.3298.
In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" aired Sunday, Bernanke also said it could be four to five years before the U.S. returned to a more normal jobless rate but that the U.S. economy was not likely to fall back into a recession.
Meanwhile, earlier Monday data showed that investor confidence in the euro zone dropped significantly more-than-expected in December.
The greenback was also up against the pound with GBP/USD shedding 0.54% to hit 1.5684.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.33% to hit 82.82 and USD/CHF soaring 0.99% to hit 0.9833.
In addition, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.10% to hit 1.0048, AUD/USD shedding 0.51% to hit 0.9878 and NZD/USD dropping 0.63% to hit 0.7611.
Earlier in the day, data showed that Australian job advertising posted its seventh consecutive monthly rise in November.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.71%.
Later in the day, euro zone finance ministers were due to meet in Brussels to discuss the outlook for Portugal, while pressure mounted to increase the size of the EUR750 billion bailout fund in order to stem the debt crisis spreading through the shared currency bloc.