Forexpros – The U.S. dollar pushed higher against most of its major counterparts on Wednesday, as investors eyed the outcome of talks in Greece amid cautious hopes that an agreement on a second bailout deal is imminent.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.13% to hit 1.3241.
Following lengthy delays, talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the leaders of Greece’s three political parties got underway earlier, aimed at agreeing on new austerity measures being demanded by international creditors in return for a EUR130 billion aid package.
The deeply unpopular measures include billions of euros in government spending reductions, as well as cuts to pensions and wages.
Athens is also in talks with private-sector creditors over a planned EUR100 billion debt swap deal, which is also a precondition for the new aid package.
European Union officials have said a final agreement the bailout much be approved by February 15, in order to avert a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
But optimism that a bailout deal for Greece will prevent a default was overshadowed by official data showing that German exports fell at their fastest rate in nearly three years in December.
The data sparked concerns that the euro zone’s largest economy may have contracted more than originally estimated in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.59% to hit 1.5802.
In the U.K., investors were looking ahead to the Bank of England’s policy decision on Thursday, amid expectations that policymakers will implement a further GBP50 billion of quantitative easing in order to shore up growth in the faltering U.K. economy.
The greenback was modestly higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY gaining 0.22% to hit 76.91 and USD/CHF up 0.17% to hit 0.913.
Official data showed earlier that the unemployment rate in Switzerland held steady at 3.1% in January, in line with expectations.
Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.06% to hit 0.9951, AUD/USD dipping 0.01% to hit 1.0804 and NZD/USD inching up 0.05% to hit 0.8360.
In Canada, official data showed that Canadian housing starts fell less-than-expected last month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, added 0.22% to hit 78.77.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that the central bank would keep borrowing costs close to zero for another two years, despite data last week showing the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a three-year low.
In testimony to the Senate Budget Committee in Washington, Bernanke said the decline in the jobless rate understated weakness in the labor market.
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