Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as disappointing euro zone data weighed on market sentiment while concerns over Greece’s financial woes persisted.
During European late morning trade, the dollar was steady against the euro, with EUR/USD edging down 0.02% to hit 1.3232.
Preliminary data showed earlier that manufacturing activity in the euro zone improved less-than-expected in February, remaining in contraction territory for the seventh consecutive month.
Markit research group said that its preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.0 in February from a reading of 48.8 in January. Analysts had expected the index to ease up to 49.4 in February.
The report also showed that service sector activity in the euro zone unexpectedly contracted in February. The preliminary services PMI declined to 49.4 from 50.4 in January.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over Greece’s ability to implement the terms of a EUR130 billion bailout package approved by euro zone finance ministers on Tuesday.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.45% to hit 1.5708.
The pound’s losses came after the minutes of the Bank of England’s February policy-setting meeting showed that two members of the BoE’s monetary policy committee wanted to increase the size of the bank’s asset purchase program by GBP75 billion.
Instead, policymakers voted to add another GBP50 billion to the central bank’s asset purchase program.
The greenback was higher against yen and flat against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.57% to hit 80.19 and USD/CHF hitting 0.9124.
A senior official at Japan's Ministry of Finance said earlier that the yen's weakening was due to last week's decision by the Bank of Japan to increase the size of its asset-purchase program to JPY30 trillion. He added that the government will continue to monitor currency moves and respond as appropriate.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.07% to hit 0.9976, AUD/USD falling 0.17% to hit 1.0643 and NZD/USD slipping 0.17% to hit 0.8325.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Australian wage prices rose more-than-expected in the fourth quarter, adding 1% after a 0.7% increase the previous quarter.
In a separate report, the Melbourne Institute said that its inflation gauge for Australia rose 0.5% in January after a 0.1% fall the previous month.
The data came after a report by the Conference Board showing that its leading index for Australia rose 0.2% in December after a 0.3% decline the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, added 0.13% to hit 79.28.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales.
During European late morning trade, the dollar was steady against the euro, with EUR/USD edging down 0.02% to hit 1.3232.
Preliminary data showed earlier that manufacturing activity in the euro zone improved less-than-expected in February, remaining in contraction territory for the seventh consecutive month.
Markit research group said that its preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.0 in February from a reading of 48.8 in January. Analysts had expected the index to ease up to 49.4 in February.
The report also showed that service sector activity in the euro zone unexpectedly contracted in February. The preliminary services PMI declined to 49.4 from 50.4 in January.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over Greece’s ability to implement the terms of a EUR130 billion bailout package approved by euro zone finance ministers on Tuesday.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.45% to hit 1.5708.
The pound’s losses came after the minutes of the Bank of England’s February policy-setting meeting showed that two members of the BoE’s monetary policy committee wanted to increase the size of the bank’s asset purchase program by GBP75 billion.
Instead, policymakers voted to add another GBP50 billion to the central bank’s asset purchase program.
The greenback was higher against yen and flat against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.57% to hit 80.19 and USD/CHF hitting 0.9124.
A senior official at Japan's Ministry of Finance said earlier that the yen's weakening was due to last week's decision by the Bank of Japan to increase the size of its asset-purchase program to JPY30 trillion. He added that the government will continue to monitor currency moves and respond as appropriate.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.07% to hit 0.9976, AUD/USD falling 0.17% to hit 1.0643 and NZD/USD slipping 0.17% to hit 0.8325.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Australian wage prices rose more-than-expected in the fourth quarter, adding 1% after a 0.7% increase the previous quarter.
In a separate report, the Melbourne Institute said that its inflation gauge for Australia rose 0.5% in January after a 0.1% fall the previous month.
The data came after a report by the Conference Board showing that its leading index for Australia rose 0.2% in December after a 0.3% decline the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, added 0.13% to hit 79.28.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales.