Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Thursday, as higher crude oil prices weighed, amid fears that escalating violence in Libya could reduce global supplies.
During European late afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.25% to hit 1.3783.
Earlier in the day, major banks warned that OPEC needed to act quickly to halt the rally in oil prices if unrest was to spread beyond Libya to other major producing oil nations.
But the greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.59% to hit 1.6113.
Earlier Thursday, industry data showed that retail sales growth in the U.K. slowed more than expected in February, to its weakest since last June.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY tumbling 0.91% to hit 81.76 and USD/CHF falling 0.69% to hit 0.9266.
In addition, the greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dropping 0.6% to hit 0.9834, AUD/USD climbing 0.67% to hit 1.0089 and NZD/USD rising 0.28% to hit 0.7476.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.31%.
Earlier in the day, U.S. government data showed that initial jobless claims fell more-than-expected last week, suggesting an improvement in the labor market.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders rose less-than-expected in January, while core durable goods orders, which exclude transportations items, tumbled unexpectedly.
Also Thursday, official data showed that U.S. new home sales fell more-than-expected in February.
During European late afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.25% to hit 1.3783.
Earlier in the day, major banks warned that OPEC needed to act quickly to halt the rally in oil prices if unrest was to spread beyond Libya to other major producing oil nations.
But the greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.59% to hit 1.6113.
Earlier Thursday, industry data showed that retail sales growth in the U.K. slowed more than expected in February, to its weakest since last June.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY tumbling 0.91% to hit 81.76 and USD/CHF falling 0.69% to hit 0.9266.
In addition, the greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dropping 0.6% to hit 0.9834, AUD/USD climbing 0.67% to hit 1.0089 and NZD/USD rising 0.28% to hit 0.7476.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.31%.
Earlier in the day, U.S. government data showed that initial jobless claims fell more-than-expected last week, suggesting an improvement in the labor market.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders rose less-than-expected in January, while core durable goods orders, which exclude transportations items, tumbled unexpectedly.
Also Thursday, official data showed that U.S. new home sales fell more-than-expected in February.