Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, as ongoing concerns over the crisis in the euro zone supported safe haven demand, but the prospect of more easing from the Federal Reserve limited the greenback’s gains.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.23% to hit 1.2126.
Sentiment on the euro was hit by sustained concerns that Spain may require a full-scale sovereign bailout and Greece may exit the euro zone.
The European Central Bank said earlier that private sector deposits at Greek banks fell 4.1% on the month in June, to the lowest level since July 2008, as political turmoil shook investor confidence.
The greenback was also slightly higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.11% to 1.5480.
The pound remained under pressure after data on Wednesday showed that the U.K. economy contracted by 0.7% in the second quarter, against expectations for a decline of just 0.2%, extending the recession into a third quarter.
Elsewhere, the greenback was little changed against the yen, with USD/JPY dipping 0.01% to 78.16, but pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing up 0.21% to trade at 0.9900.
The greenback was slightly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD slipping 0.06% to 1.0148, AUD/USD rising 0.18% to 1.0326 and NZD/USD up 0.34% to trade at 0.7916.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5% earlier Thursday and said there was still a “limited” risk that conditions in the euro zone could deteriorate significantly.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.14% to 83.78.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on durable goods orders and initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales.
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