Forexpros – The U.S. dollar edged higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as hopes that this week’s critical European Union summit would yield a breakthrough on resolving the region’s debt crisis faded.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD sliding 0.19% to hit 1.3376.
Sentiment on the euro was dented after the Wall Street Journal reported that an unnamed senior German official expressed pessimism on the prospect of success at the two-day EU summit, scheduled to begin Thursday.
European leaders are to discuss proposed changes to EU treaties which would allow for greater fiscal integration in the single currency bloc, as well as an enlargement of the bloc’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility and the permanent structure that will replace it, the European Stability Mechanism.
The euro shrugged off data showing that German industrial production rose 0.8% in October, beating expectations for a 0.3% increase.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.01% to hit 1.5601.
Earlier in the day, official data showing that U.K. manufacturing output posted the largest decline in six months in October, while industrial production also posted the biggest drop since April.
Elsewhere, the greenback was steady against the yen and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY easing up 0.01% to hit 77.72, and USD/CHF adding 0.23% to hit 0.9280.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts but slid against its Australian cousin, with USD/CAD edging up 0.05% to hit 1.0105, NZD/USD shedding 0.27% to hit 0.7775 and AUD/USD rising 0.09% to hit 1.0253.
Earlier Wednesday, government data showed that Australian gross domestic product grew by 1% from the second quarter, slightly below expectations for a 1.2% expansion, but up 2.5% from a year earlier.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.13% to hit 78.73.
Also Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the International Monetary Fund has a key role to play in resolving the euro zone’s debt crisis, but dismissed speculation that the Federal Reserve would lend money to the institution.
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