Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was lower against its major counterparts on Thursday, but the greenback remained supported after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke dampened expectations for further monetary easing.
During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.18% to hit 1.3349.
In testimony to Congress on Wednesday, Bernanke said the drop in unemployment has been more rapid than expected and added that higher oil prices could push up inflation.
He also reaffirmed that U.S. interest rates look likely to remain close to record lows through late 2014 and stopped short of indicating that the bank is considering any further easing measures.
Meanwhile, the euro found mild support after final data indicated that the purchasing mangers’ index for the euro zone remained unchanged at 49.0 in February, in line with expectations.
The greenback was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.11% to hit 1.5933.
A report by mortgage lender Nationwide earlier showed that U.K. house prices rose more-than-expected in February, after dropping unexpectedly the previous month.
A separate report showed that U.K. manufacturing activity declined more-than-expected in February.
The greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging down 0.04% to hit 81.11 and USD/CHF slipping 0.17% to hit 0.9029.
Earlier in the day, government data showed that capital spending in Japan jumped by the most in five years in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, a report showed that manufacturing activity in Switzerland improved more-than-expected in February, but remained in contraction territory for the fifth consecutive month.
The data came after a report showing that Switzerland’s gross domestic product increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in the fourth quarter, confounding expectations for a modest 0.1% decline.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD shedding 0.28% to hit 0.9872, AUD/USD rising 0.38% to hit 1.0771 and NZD/USD climbing 0.23% to hit 0.8361.
In Australia, official data showed earlier that building approvals rose far less-than-expected in January, while private capital expenditure in Australia fell unexpectedly in the fourth quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, declined 0.16% to hit 78.73.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on unemployment claims, while the Institute for Supply Management was to produce a report on manufacturing activity. In addition, Ben Bernanke was due to testify for a second day before Congress.
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