Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as fears over sovereign ratings downgrades across the euro zone weighed on sentiment, despite fair investor demand at Italian and German bond auctions.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.32% to hit 1.2994.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion of five-year government bonds, at an average yield of 6.47%, a euro era high, after paying 6.29% at a similar auction in November.
Following the auction, the yield on Italian 10-year bonds was above the critical 7% threshold, close to the euro-era highs hit last month.
Meanwhile, Germany auctioned EUR4.18 billion of two-year bonds at euro-era low yields, reassuring investors after an auction of 10-year bonds last month met with extremely weak investor demand.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.01% to hit 1.5476.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose less-than-expected in December, advancing by 3,000 after a rise of 2,500 the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of people claiming unemployment benefits to rise by 16,100 in November.
The report also showed that the U.K. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3%, despite expectations for a rise to 8.4%.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY adding 0.13% to hit 78.09, and USD/CHF rising 0.21% to hit 0.9474.
Earlier Wednesday, the ZEW institute said that its index of economic expectations in Switzerland deteriorated to the lowest level in three years in December, falling to minus 72.0 from minus 64.3 points last month.
In addition, the greenback was up against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD climbing 0.32% to hit 1.0371, AUD/USD shedding 0.43% to hit 0.9972 and NZD/USD falling 0.6% to hit 0.7521.
In Australia, a report showed that the Westpac Banking Corporation index of consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since August in November, tumbling 8.3% after a 6.3% increase the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.28% to hit an 11-month high of 81.19.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on import prices and crude oil stockpiles.
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