Investing.com – The U.S. dollar gave up early gains against its major counterparts on Wednesday, slipping broadly lower as concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone eased following remarks by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.40% to hit 1.3733.
Barroso said the commission would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds, but he warned that the measure alone would not be enough to end the region’s debt crisis and reiterated that Germany remained strongly opposed to the move.
The greenback edged lower against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.06% to hit 1.5789.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected in August, but the pound remained under pressure after the report showed that the number of people without work on the wider ILO measure showed its biggest rise in two years in the three months to July.
The greenback was also lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.14% to hit 76.83 and USD/CHF shedding 0.46% to hit 0.8761.
In Switzerland, government data showed that producer and import prices dropped by the most in 33 months in August, on the back of the stronger franc and lower oil prices.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against its Canadian and Australian counterparts but slipped against its New Zealand cousin, with USD/CAD climbing 0.30% to hit 0.9886, AUD/USD shedding 0.59% to hit 1.0249 and NZD/USD easing up 0.07% to hit 0.8234.
The Aussie’s losses came after a downward revision of inflation data earlier in the day. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said core inflation rose by 0.6% in the second quarter. At the end of July, it reported an increase of 0.9% for the second quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.16% to hit 77.46.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on producer price inflation and retail sales.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.40% to hit 1.3733.
Barroso said the commission would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds, but he warned that the measure alone would not be enough to end the region’s debt crisis and reiterated that Germany remained strongly opposed to the move.
The greenback edged lower against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.06% to hit 1.5789.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose less-than-expected in August, but the pound remained under pressure after the report showed that the number of people without work on the wider ILO measure showed its biggest rise in two years in the three months to July.
The greenback was also lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.14% to hit 76.83 and USD/CHF shedding 0.46% to hit 0.8761.
In Switzerland, government data showed that producer and import prices dropped by the most in 33 months in August, on the back of the stronger franc and lower oil prices.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against its Canadian and Australian counterparts but slipped against its New Zealand cousin, with USD/CAD climbing 0.30% to hit 0.9886, AUD/USD shedding 0.59% to hit 1.0249 and NZD/USD easing up 0.07% to hit 0.8234.
The Aussie’s losses came after a downward revision of inflation data earlier in the day. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said core inflation rose by 0.6% in the second quarter. At the end of July, it reported an increase of 0.9% for the second quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.16% to hit 77.46.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on producer price inflation and retail sales.