Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, as expectations that the European Central Bank will announce measures to stem the region’s debt crisis after its policy meeting later in the day boosted investor confidence.
During European morning trade, the dollar was hovering close to a two-month low against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.19% to 1.2623.
Demand for the single currency has been underpinned in recent weeks by expectations that the ECB is set to announce more details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets.
Speculation mounted on Wednesday, after Bloomberg reported that the ECB is planning unlimited purchases of government bonds with maturities of up to three years, without setting bond yield targets.
The greenback was steady near a three-and-a-half month low against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.04% to 1.5908.
The Bank of England was to hold its monthly policy-setting meeting later Thursday, but the bank was widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate and the size of its asset purchase program unchanged.
Elsewhere, the greenback was little changed against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY inching up 0.07% to 78.44 and USD/CHF dipping 0.06% to trade at 0.9548.
The greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.18% to 0.9887, AUD/USD climbing 0.50% to trade at 1.0242 and NZD/USD up 0.37% to 0.7972.
In Australia, official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to 5.1% in August from 5.2% in July, defying expectations for an increase to 5.3%.
However, the number of people employed fell by 8,800 last month, disappointing expectations for an increase of 5,000.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.13% to 81.13.
The U.S. was to release a report on ADP non-farm payrolls later in the session, followed by weekly government data on unemployment claims. The country was also to release a report by the Institute for Supply Management on service sector activity.
During European morning trade, the dollar was hovering close to a two-month low against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.19% to 1.2623.
Demand for the single currency has been underpinned in recent weeks by expectations that the ECB is set to announce more details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets.
Speculation mounted on Wednesday, after Bloomberg reported that the ECB is planning unlimited purchases of government bonds with maturities of up to three years, without setting bond yield targets.
The greenback was steady near a three-and-a-half month low against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.04% to 1.5908.
The Bank of England was to hold its monthly policy-setting meeting later Thursday, but the bank was widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate and the size of its asset purchase program unchanged.
Elsewhere, the greenback was little changed against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY inching up 0.07% to 78.44 and USD/CHF dipping 0.06% to trade at 0.9548.
The greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.18% to 0.9887, AUD/USD climbing 0.50% to trade at 1.0242 and NZD/USD up 0.37% to 0.7972.
In Australia, official data showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to 5.1% in August from 5.2% in July, defying expectations for an increase to 5.3%.
However, the number of people employed fell by 8,800 last month, disappointing expectations for an increase of 5,000.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.13% to 81.13.
The U.S. was to release a report on ADP non-farm payrolls later in the session, followed by weekly government data on unemployment claims. The country was also to release a report by the Institute for Supply Management on service sector activity.