Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained broadly higher against the other major currencies on Monday, as doubts over the effectiveness of steps by the European Central Bank to address the debt crisis in the euro zone lingered, curbing risk appetite.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.06% to 1.2381.
Investors remained cautious after the ECB indicated last week that it may restart its bond buying program, to help lower Spanish and Italian borrowing costs.
ECB President Mario Draghi said any such action was conditional on euro zone governments experiencing difficulty on bond markets applying to the bloc’s bailout funds to purchase government bonds and accepting strict conditions and supervision.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has indicated that Madrid may ask for a full-scale bailout.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 6.78% on Monday, close to the 7% threshold widely seen as unsustainable if a country is to remain solvent.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.43% to hit 1.5574.
The pound came under pressure amid concerns that the Bank of England will cut its forecast for growth in Wednesday’s quarterly inflation report, increasing the likelihood for further stimulus measures from the central bank.
Earlier Monday, a report by mortgage lender Halifax showed that U.K. house prices fell by 0.6% in July, slightly more than expectations for a 0.5% decline, indicating that the pattern of broadly stable house prices is remaining unchanged.
Elsewhere, the greenback was weaker against the traditional safe haven yen, with USD/JPY losing 0.16% to trade at 78.34 and inched lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing down 0.06% to 0.9699.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.06% to 1.0006, AUD/USD sliding 0.10% to 1.0556 and NZD/USD inching up 0.04% to trade at 0.8191.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was little changed, inching up 0.01% to 82.42.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak; his comments would be closely watched by investors.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.06% to 1.2381.
Investors remained cautious after the ECB indicated last week that it may restart its bond buying program, to help lower Spanish and Italian borrowing costs.
ECB President Mario Draghi said any such action was conditional on euro zone governments experiencing difficulty on bond markets applying to the bloc’s bailout funds to purchase government bonds and accepting strict conditions and supervision.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has indicated that Madrid may ask for a full-scale bailout.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 6.78% on Monday, close to the 7% threshold widely seen as unsustainable if a country is to remain solvent.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.43% to hit 1.5574.
The pound came under pressure amid concerns that the Bank of England will cut its forecast for growth in Wednesday’s quarterly inflation report, increasing the likelihood for further stimulus measures from the central bank.
Earlier Monday, a report by mortgage lender Halifax showed that U.K. house prices fell by 0.6% in July, slightly more than expectations for a 0.5% decline, indicating that the pattern of broadly stable house prices is remaining unchanged.
Elsewhere, the greenback was weaker against the traditional safe haven yen, with USD/JPY losing 0.16% to trade at 78.34 and inched lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing down 0.06% to 0.9699.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.06% to 1.0006, AUD/USD sliding 0.10% to 1.0556 and NZD/USD inching up 0.04% to trade at 0.8191.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was little changed, inching up 0.01% to 82.42.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak; his comments would be closely watched by investors.