Investing.com - The euro ticked higher against most of its major counterparts on Thursday, but remained close to a 16-month low against the U.S. dollar and a more than decade low against the yen as market sentiment improved after well-received Spanish and Italian debt auctions.
During European late morning trade, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.35% to hit 1.2751.
Spain sold twice the maximum targeted amount of EUR5 billion at auction, selling EUR9.98 billion in bonds maturing in 2015 and 2016, including a new benchmark bond.
The yield on the new benchmark bond, which matures in July 2015, was 3.38%, compared with 5.18% at a similar auction in December.
Meanwhile, Italy auctioned EUR12 billion in short-term debt with yields on five-month bonds at 1.6%, down from 3.25% in December and the yield on 12-month bills falling to 2.73% from 5.95% last month.
Following the auctions, markets turned to the European Central Bank’s policy meeting later Thursday. The ECB was expected to keep rates unchanged at 1% and to reiterate that governments in the euro zone must step up efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.27% to hit 0.8312.
Sterling came under pressure after official data showed that manufacturing production in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in November, while industrial production also declined unexpectedly.
The single currency rose against the yen, but hovered close to Monday’s 11-year low, with EUR/JPY climbing 0.42% to hit 98.10.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan’s chief economist said that the country’s economy will see flat growth for the time being before resuming a moderate recovery later this year as the euro zone’s debt crisis and an overseas slowdown weigh on exports.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF inching down 0.08% to hit 1.2112.
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said earlier that Switzerland may not name a permanent successor to Philipp Hildebrand as central bank chairman for several months.
Hildebrand quit on Monday after failing to prove that he was not involved in a currency trade made by his wife three weeks before he oversaw the introduction of a cap on the value of the Swiss franc.
The euro continued to struggle against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, trading close to record lows, with EUR/AUD easing up 0.05% to hit 1.2331 and EUR/NZD advancing 0.42% to hit 1.6011.
The euro was fractionally higher against the Canadian dollar with EUR/CAD inching up 0.06% to hit 1.2964.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Chinese consumer price inflation eased to 4.1% in December, its lowest level in 15 months, down from 4.2% the previous month, supporting the view that Beijing may ease monetary policy to bolster growth.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales and initial jobless claims.
During European late morning trade, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.35% to hit 1.2751.
Spain sold twice the maximum targeted amount of EUR5 billion at auction, selling EUR9.98 billion in bonds maturing in 2015 and 2016, including a new benchmark bond.
The yield on the new benchmark bond, which matures in July 2015, was 3.38%, compared with 5.18% at a similar auction in December.
Meanwhile, Italy auctioned EUR12 billion in short-term debt with yields on five-month bonds at 1.6%, down from 3.25% in December and the yield on 12-month bills falling to 2.73% from 5.95% last month.
Following the auctions, markets turned to the European Central Bank’s policy meeting later Thursday. The ECB was expected to keep rates unchanged at 1% and to reiterate that governments in the euro zone must step up efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.27% to hit 0.8312.
Sterling came under pressure after official data showed that manufacturing production in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in November, while industrial production also declined unexpectedly.
The single currency rose against the yen, but hovered close to Monday’s 11-year low, with EUR/JPY climbing 0.42% to hit 98.10.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan’s chief economist said that the country’s economy will see flat growth for the time being before resuming a moderate recovery later this year as the euro zone’s debt crisis and an overseas slowdown weigh on exports.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF inching down 0.08% to hit 1.2112.
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said earlier that Switzerland may not name a permanent successor to Philipp Hildebrand as central bank chairman for several months.
Hildebrand quit on Monday after failing to prove that he was not involved in a currency trade made by his wife three weeks before he oversaw the introduction of a cap on the value of the Swiss franc.
The euro continued to struggle against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, trading close to record lows, with EUR/AUD easing up 0.05% to hit 1.2331 and EUR/NZD advancing 0.42% to hit 1.6011.
The euro was fractionally higher against the Canadian dollar with EUR/CAD inching up 0.06% to hit 1.2964.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Chinese consumer price inflation eased to 4.1% in December, its lowest level in 15 months, down from 4.2% the previous month, supporting the view that Beijing may ease monetary policy to bolster growth.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales and initial jobless claims.