Forexpros – The U.S. dollar remained mixed against its major counterparts on Thursday, as risk sentiment waned amid sustained debt concerns in the euro zone while markets eyed the release of U.S. unemployment claims data later in the day.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.54% to hit 1.3071.
The euro came under pressure after official data showed that German industrial production dropped 1.3% in February, more than expectations for a 0.5% drop and renewing concerns over the outlook for the bloc’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, investors remained focused on Madrid’s debt troubles after a disappointing government bond auction on Wednesday added to concerns that Spain may be the next euro zone member to require a bailout.
Also adding to concerns, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that “downside risks to the economic outlook prevail” after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1%.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD declining 0.20% to hit 1.5858.
The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.5%, in a widely expected move and announced no change to the size of its asset purchase facility which stands at GBP325 billion, following a GBP50 billion increase in February.
The announcement came after unexpectedly weak data on U.K. factory output cast doubts over the strength of the country’s economic recovery.
The Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production in the U.K. fell by 1.0% in February and the previous month’s figures was revised down to show a drop of 0.3%, giving an annual decline of 1.4%.
The greenback was sharply lower against the yen, but higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY losing 0.68% to hit 81.90 and USD/CHF adding 0.45% to hit 0.9201.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that consumer price inflation in Switzerland rose more-than-expected in March, ticking up 0.6% after a 0.3% rise the previous month.
Analysts had expected consumer price inflation to rise 0.4% in March.
The data came after the Swiss National Bank said in a report that foreign currency reserves rose to CHF237.5 billion in March from CHF227.2 billion the previous month.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian counterpart but lower against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD rising 0.19% to hit 0.9980, AUD/USD advancing 0.12% to hit 1.0282 and NZD/USD edging up 0.07% to hit 0.8153.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose 0.35% to hit 80.19.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims.
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