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Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was trading in a narrow range against its major counterparts on Wednesday, after the release of disappointing U.S. housing data, while market participants mulled the implications of the U.K.’s annual budget statement.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.11% to hit 1.3208.
The greenback also edged higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.08% to hit 1.5851.
The pound came under broad selling pressure earlier after official data showed that U.K. public sector net borrowing increased to a record GBP12.9 billion in February, against expectations for a deficit of GBP5.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Bank of England’s March policy meeting showed that two policymakers voted in favor of enlarging the scale of the bank’s asset purchase facility.
Elsewhere, U.K. Chancellor George Osborne reaffirmed his commitment to rein in the country’s debts, whilst outlining measures aimed at shoring up economic growth as he presented the annual budget in parliament.
Osborne said the U.K. will need to borrow less and that the economy will be slightly stronger than previously thought.
The greenback remained supported close to an 11-month high against the yen, with USD/JPY dipping 0.03% to hit 83.68 but inched higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.13% to hit 0.9129.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD easing up 0.08% to hit 0.9922, AUD/USD losing 0.28% to hit 1.0451 and NZD/USD skidding 0.33% to hit 0.8144.
The Canadian dollar was largely unchanged after official data showed that the composite index of leading Canadian economic indicators climbed by 0.6% in February, slightly above expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched up 0.03% to hit 79.89.
In the U.S., industry data showed that U.S. existing home sales declined more-than-forecast in February, indicating that the housing sector is still taking time to stabilize.
The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales dipped by 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted 4.59 million units in February, compared to expectations for a decline to 4.61 million units.
Existing home sales in January was revised down by nearly 1.5% to 4.63 million units from a previously reported 4.57 million.
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