Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Thursday as markets await the Draghi/King press conference in Frankfurt.
During mid session U.S. trade, the greenback was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.04% to 1.3042.
The single currency was held down by continued euro zone debt fears and worries about a potential French downgrade.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.19% to hit 1.5673.
A final seal of approval on an emergency Italian austerity budget helped lift confidence in the euro zone’s third largest economy.
Mario Draghi and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King were to hold a press conference in Frankfurt after a meeting of the European Systematic Risk Board.
U.K. GDP climbed at a rate of 0.5% meeting analysts expectations. However, the country’s account deficit expanded to GBP15.2 billion, crushing the estimated GBP5.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY up by 0.13% to hit 78.16 and USD/CHF climbing 0.04%% to hit 0.9361.
In addition the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD falling 0.53% to hit 1.0208, AUD/USD climbing 0.38% to hit 1.014 and NZD/USD advancing 0.49% to 0.774.
U.S. unemployment numbers plunged to the lowest level since April, 2008 adding to the positive sentiment.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slipped 0.10% to hit 80.26.
Investors await France’s GDP numbers on Friday.
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