Investing.com - The U.S. dollar moved higher against its major counterparts in Asian trade Wednesday, following Slovakia’s rejection of a vote to expand Europe’s bailout fund, raising new doubts as to the region’s ability to address its debt woes.
In mid-day Asian trade, the greenback was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.25% to hit 1.3606.
Slovakia’s Parliament, late Tuesday, voted against expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility, sparking new concerns over the region’s ability to stem the spread of debt in the euro-zone.
The vote-down had been widely expected, as the Slovak ruling party struggled to garner support in the legislature. Approval of the measure was anticipated later in the week.
Slovakia, the poorest member of the 17-nation common currency, remained the final member to vote on the bailout fund.
Earlier in the day, representatives of the so-called troika, the European Union, International Monetary Fund, and European Central Bank, said Greece was likely to receive its USD10.9 billion rescue tranche by early November, allowing Athens to avert default.
Wall Street shares ended Tuesday’s session mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 0.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.66%, and the S&P 500 rose by 0.05%
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against the British pound, with GBP/USD lower by 0.12% to hit 1.5558.
The dollar was higher against both the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY up 0.09% to hit 76.72, and USD/CHF higher by 0.24% to hit 0.9110.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD down 0.02% to hit 1.0296, AUD/USD lower by 0.52% to hit 0.9902, and NZD/USD falling 0.21% to hit 0.7782.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.27% at 78.13.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was scheduled to deliver a speech at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe meeting in London later Wednesday.