Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded higher against its major counterparts Friday after Italian borrowing costs fell less at a note sale today than yesterday dashing hopes of continued improvement in the economically struggling nation.
During London trade, the greenback moved higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.23% to hit 1.2784.
Italy sold euro3 billion of noted due in November 2014 today at an average yield of 4.83%. This is down from 5.62% during December 29th's auction.
Yesterday, Italy sold one year bills at 2.735%, more than half the 5.952 yield gathered at the sale on December 12th.
Ian Stannard of Morgan Stanley explained the euro selling to Bloomberg, "Expectations were built up quite significantly following yesterday's auction. Any rebound we see in EUR/USD is going to remain limited, and we remain bearish over the medium term. The single currency is likely to weaken toward $1.25 by the end of March, and decline to around $1.20 later in the year."
Yesterday, the euro gained strength on the words of European Central Bank's President, Mario Draghi when he stated he see signs of stabilization in the region.
The dollar was headed for a weekly drop prior to a U.S. report that analysts said will show consumer confidence improved this month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.40% to hit 81.38. .
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and Swiss franc with USD/JPY climbing 0.065% to 76.80 and USD/CHF advancing 0.46% to hit 0.9490.
In addition the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins with USD/CAD adding 0.10% to hit 1.0201, AUD/USD falling 0.10%% to 1.0323 and NZD/USD giving back 0.16% to 0.7926. .
Investors are awaiting China's GDP on Monday to confirm growth in the world's second largest economy. .
During London trade, the greenback moved higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.23% to hit 1.2784.
Italy sold euro3 billion of noted due in November 2014 today at an average yield of 4.83%. This is down from 5.62% during December 29th's auction.
Yesterday, Italy sold one year bills at 2.735%, more than half the 5.952 yield gathered at the sale on December 12th.
Ian Stannard of Morgan Stanley explained the euro selling to Bloomberg, "Expectations were built up quite significantly following yesterday's auction. Any rebound we see in EUR/USD is going to remain limited, and we remain bearish over the medium term. The single currency is likely to weaken toward $1.25 by the end of March, and decline to around $1.20 later in the year."
Yesterday, the euro gained strength on the words of European Central Bank's President, Mario Draghi when he stated he see signs of stabilization in the region.
The dollar was headed for a weekly drop prior to a U.S. report that analysts said will show consumer confidence improved this month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.40% to hit 81.38. .
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and Swiss franc with USD/JPY climbing 0.065% to 76.80 and USD/CHF advancing 0.46% to hit 0.9490.
In addition the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins with USD/CAD adding 0.10% to hit 1.0201, AUD/USD falling 0.10%% to 1.0323 and NZD/USD giving back 0.16% to 0.7926. .
Investors are awaiting China's GDP on Monday to confirm growth in the world's second largest economy. .