Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained broadly lower against its major counterparts on Tuesday, after an auction of Italian government debt met with solid investor demand, while markets eyed a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.17% to hit 1.3342.
Earlier Tuesday, Italy auctioned the maximum targeted amount of EUR7.5 billion of debt but borrowing costs surged to euro-era highs. The yield on the three-year bond was a record 7.89% and 10-year yields climbed to 7.56% from 6.06% at a similar auction last month.
Euro zone finance ministers were to meet later in the day and were expected to approve plans to enlarge the scope of the region’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. They were also expected to sign off on Greece’s next tranche of financial aid.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.69% to hit 1.5621.
The pound remained vulnerable ahead of the U.K. government budget statement, which was expected to revise down the forecast for growth significantly, amidst signs that the economic recovery is faltering.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.24% to hit 77.76 and USD/CHF slipping 0.17% to hit 0.9206.
Earlier in the day, Japan’s finance minister pledged to achieve "more appropriate" yen levels, signaling that sharp rises in the currency will trigger additional monetary stimulus as slowing global growth clouds the outlook for the export-dependent economy.
The greenback was also sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dropping 0.52% to hit 1.0289, AUD/USD jumping 1.20% to hit 1.0023 and NZD/USD surging 1.02% to hit 0.7628.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.39% to hit 79.09.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation as well as a report on consumer confidence.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.17% to hit 1.3342.
Earlier Tuesday, Italy auctioned the maximum targeted amount of EUR7.5 billion of debt but borrowing costs surged to euro-era highs. The yield on the three-year bond was a record 7.89% and 10-year yields climbed to 7.56% from 6.06% at a similar auction last month.
Euro zone finance ministers were to meet later in the day and were expected to approve plans to enlarge the scope of the region’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. They were also expected to sign off on Greece’s next tranche of financial aid.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.69% to hit 1.5621.
The pound remained vulnerable ahead of the U.K. government budget statement, which was expected to revise down the forecast for growth significantly, amidst signs that the economic recovery is faltering.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.24% to hit 77.76 and USD/CHF slipping 0.17% to hit 0.9206.
Earlier in the day, Japan’s finance minister pledged to achieve "more appropriate" yen levels, signaling that sharp rises in the currency will trigger additional monetary stimulus as slowing global growth clouds the outlook for the export-dependent economy.
The greenback was also sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dropping 0.52% to hit 1.0289, AUD/USD jumping 1.20% to hit 1.0023 and NZD/USD surging 1.02% to hit 0.7628.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.39% to hit 79.09.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation as well as a report on consumer confidence.