Forex - U.S. dollar higher on euro zone debt woes

Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday as Spanish debt worries sent investors into the safety of the greenback.

During U.S. afternoon trade, the dollar was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.11% to hit 1.3112.

The single currency limited losses amid speculation that Spanish banks were purchasing the currency prior to an auction of two and 10-year Spanish government bonds Thursday, as concerns over whether the government will be able to reduce one of the euro zone’s largest budget deficits in the face of a looming recession persisted.

Euro sentiment was boosted on Tuesday after an auction of short-term Spanish government debt raised the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion, but the country’s borrowing costs almost doubled.

Meanwhile, worries over Spain’s troubled banking sector mounted after the country’s central bank reported earlier that the amount of bad loans at domestic banks rose to an 18-year high in February.

But the greenback was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.67% to hit 1.6030.

The pound was supported when the minutes of the Bank of England’s April meeting indicated that just one policymaker voted in favor of additional monetary easing, after two of the nine member monetary policy committee favored additional stimulus in March.

Additionally, government data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected last month, while the unemployment rate ticked down unexpectedly.

Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY advancing 0.57% to hit 81.30 and USD/CHF easing up 0.14% to hit 0.9164.

In other news Wednesday, the Swiss National Bank named Thomas Jordan as president, three months after he took over as interim head of the SNB, following the resignation of former president Philipp Hildebrand.

Traders did not expect his appointment to have and significant impact on the monetary policy strategy of the central bank.

The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.02% to hit 0.9897,AUD/USD slipping 0.16% to hit 1.0372 and NZD/USD shedding 0.43% to hit 0.8177.

The Canadian dollar remained supported after the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy report struck a slightly more dovish tone than the bank’s rate statement on Tuesday.

"The heightened uncertainty around the global outlook has eased from very high levels, but volatility can be expected to persist," the BoC said.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up just 0.08% at 79.76.

Additional euro positive news Wednesday includes Germany auctioned off EUR4.21 billion of two-year government bonds at a record low yield of 0.14%, as investor demand for safe haven assets remained well supported.