Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as risk appetite was boosted by signs that progress is being made in tackling the debt crisis in the euro zone.
During European morning trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD advancing 0.70% to hit 1.3736.
On Tuesday, officials from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank said Greece was likely to receive its next tranche of financial aid next month and said Athens has made “important progress” in fiscal consolidation.
Meanwhile, Slovakia’s parliament rejected a plan to expand the scope of the euro zone’s bailout fund. Slovakia is the only euro zone member that has yet to approve a plan to enlarge the lending capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility and a re-vote was expected to be held later in the week.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.62% to hit 1.5673.
Elsewhere, the greenback weakened against the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY dipping 0.06% to hit 76.58 and USD/CHF dropping 0.69% to hit 0.9023.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Japanese machinery orders rebounded in August, indicating that companies are willing to invest despite uncertainties over the global economic recovery.
In addition, the greenback was sharply lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD shedding 0.64% to hit 1.0232, AUD/USD rallying 0.92% to hit 1.0044 and NZD/USD jumping 1.19% to hit 0.7891.
Official data released earlier showed that the number of new home loans granted in Australia rose more-than-expected in August, up for a fifth successive month, while a separate report showed that consumer confidence extended its rebound from a two-year low.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.50% to hit 77.50.
Later in the day, European Commission President Jose Barroso was to present proposals on bank recapitalization to the European Parliament. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to publish the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy-setting meeting.
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