Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was trading in a narrow range against its major counterparts on Thursday, as concerns over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery dented risk appetite, while investors looked ahead to the outcome of talks on the euro zone’s debt firewall.
During European morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.21% to hit 1.3287.
Risk appetite was hit after U.S. data on Wednesday showed that durable goods orders rose less-than-expected in February, while dovish comments from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke dented sentiment on the greenback.
The euro found support after a report earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell more-than-expected in March, while the country’s jobless rate dropped to a record low of 6.7%.
Investors were looking ahead to a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday, amid expectations that they would agree on a larger debt firewall to combat the debt crisis in the region.
The greenback was slightly lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.10% to hit 1.5902.
The Bank of England said earlier that U.K. mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in more than eight months in February, falling to 48,986 down from 57,899 the previous month.
A separate report showed that U.K. house prices posted the largest monthly decline in more than two years this month.
The greenback was lower against the yen but pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dropping 0.64% to hit 82.36 and USD/CHF adding 0.19% to hit 0.9067.
The yen firmed up as Japanese companies moved to repatriate overseas earnings before the end of Japan’s fiscal year on March 31.
Meanwhile, official data showed that retail sales in Japan rose more-than-expected in February, adding 3.5% after a 1.8% increase the previous month.
Elsewhere, the greenback gained ground against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD climbing 0.15% to hit 0.9997, AUD/USD shedding 0.33% to hit 1.0353 and NZD/USD dipping 0.08% to hit 0.8160.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.07% to hit 79.35.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims, as well as final data on fourth quarter gross domestic product. In addition, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.
During European morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.21% to hit 1.3287.
Risk appetite was hit after U.S. data on Wednesday showed that durable goods orders rose less-than-expected in February, while dovish comments from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke dented sentiment on the greenback.
The euro found support after a report earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell more-than-expected in March, while the country’s jobless rate dropped to a record low of 6.7%.
Investors were looking ahead to a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday, amid expectations that they would agree on a larger debt firewall to combat the debt crisis in the region.
The greenback was slightly lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.10% to hit 1.5902.
The Bank of England said earlier that U.K. mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in more than eight months in February, falling to 48,986 down from 57,899 the previous month.
A separate report showed that U.K. house prices posted the largest monthly decline in more than two years this month.
The greenback was lower against the yen but pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dropping 0.64% to hit 82.36 and USD/CHF adding 0.19% to hit 0.9067.
The yen firmed up as Japanese companies moved to repatriate overseas earnings before the end of Japan’s fiscal year on March 31.
Meanwhile, official data showed that retail sales in Japan rose more-than-expected in February, adding 3.5% after a 1.8% increase the previous month.
Elsewhere, the greenback gained ground against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD climbing 0.15% to hit 0.9997, AUD/USD shedding 0.33% to hit 1.0353 and NZD/USD dipping 0.08% to hit 0.8160.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.07% to hit 79.35.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims, as well as final data on fourth quarter gross domestic product. In addition, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.