Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was lower against its major counterparts on Thursday, as market sentiment strengthened after the European Central Bank lowered its benchmark interest rate for the second consecutive month.
During European after trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.23% to hit 1.3443.
In a widely expected decision, the ECB cut lowered its interest rate by 0.25% to a record low of 1% in a bid to bolster faltering growth in the euro zone.
Meanwhile, European leaders were beginning a two-day summit in Brussels to discuss proposed changes to EU treaties which would allow for greater fiscal integration and stricter enforcement of budgetary discipline in the single currency bloc, clearing the way for the ECB to play a bigger role in stabilizing euro zone bond markets.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.31% to hit 1.5762.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England kept interest rates steady at a record low 0.5%, where they have been since March 2009 and announced no change to its asset purchase program, which it increased to GBP275 billion in October.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY declining 0.62% to hit 77.20, and USD/CHF falling 0.54% to hit 0.9187.
In Japan, government data showed that core machinery orders fell unexpectedly in October, tumbling 6.9% after an 8.2% decline the previous month.
Analysts had expected core machinery orders to rise 0.2% in October.
The greenback was also lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD retreating 0.43% to hit 1.0054, AUD/USD climbing 0.72% to hit 1.0368 and NZD/USD advancing 0.94% to hit 0.7869.
In Canada, a report showed that housing starts declined more-than-expected in November, falling to 181,000 units from 209,000 the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.32% to hit 78.21.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, climbing 381,000 after a 404,000 rise the previous week.
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