Investing.com - The euro was higher against most of its major counterparts on Thursday, boosted by broad dollar weakness following Wednesday’s dovish Federal Reserve rate statement, while investors eyed the outcome of talks on a debt swap deal for Greece.
During European late morning trade, the euro was trading close to a five-week high against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.28% to hit 1.3143.
At the conclusion of its rate setting meeting, the Fed said economic conditions will likely “warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.”
The central bank had previously pledged to keep interest rates close to zero until mid-2013.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that policy makers were “prepared to provide further monetary accommodation” and added that bond buying is “an option that’s certainly on the table,“ indicating that the bank may embark on a third round of quantitative easing.
The euro found support after Italy successful auctioned EUR5 billion of government debt earlier, in a bond auction which met with solid investor demand at sharply lower yields.
Elsewhere, talks on a debt swap deal between debt strapped Greece and its private creditors were to resume in Athens later in the day.
On Wednesday, International Monetary Fund Head Christine Lagarde said the European Central Bank and other public sectors holders of Greek debt may also need to accept losses to help ease the country’s massive debt burden.
The shared currency edged higher against the pound but was almost unchanged against the safe haven yen, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.09% to hit 0.8380 and EUR/JPY inching up 0.01% to hit 101.93.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF dipping 0.07% to hit 1.2069.
The euro remained weaker against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, trading close to recent record lows, with EUR/AUD shedding 0.32% to hit 1.2328 and EUR/NZD down 0.26% to hit 1.6002.
Earlier Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, in line with expectations. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard said it was prudent to hold rates steady amid the present uncertainty over the global economic outlook.
The euro was fractionally lower against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD easing down 0.04% to hit 1.3158.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on initial jobless claims and durable goods orders.
During European late morning trade, the euro was trading close to a five-week high against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.28% to hit 1.3143.
At the conclusion of its rate setting meeting, the Fed said economic conditions will likely “warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.”
The central bank had previously pledged to keep interest rates close to zero until mid-2013.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that policy makers were “prepared to provide further monetary accommodation” and added that bond buying is “an option that’s certainly on the table,“ indicating that the bank may embark on a third round of quantitative easing.
The euro found support after Italy successful auctioned EUR5 billion of government debt earlier, in a bond auction which met with solid investor demand at sharply lower yields.
Elsewhere, talks on a debt swap deal between debt strapped Greece and its private creditors were to resume in Athens later in the day.
On Wednesday, International Monetary Fund Head Christine Lagarde said the European Central Bank and other public sectors holders of Greek debt may also need to accept losses to help ease the country’s massive debt burden.
The shared currency edged higher against the pound but was almost unchanged against the safe haven yen, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.09% to hit 0.8380 and EUR/JPY inching up 0.01% to hit 101.93.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF dipping 0.07% to hit 1.2069.
The euro remained weaker against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, trading close to recent record lows, with EUR/AUD shedding 0.32% to hit 1.2328 and EUR/NZD down 0.26% to hit 1.6002.
Earlier Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, in line with expectations. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard said it was prudent to hold rates steady amid the present uncertainty over the global economic outlook.
The euro was fractionally lower against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD easing down 0.04% to hit 1.3158.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on initial jobless claims and durable goods orders.