Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against most of its major counterparts on Thursday, ahead of the European Central Bank’s post-policy meeting press conference later in the day.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.28% to hit 1.4278.
The ECB raised its key lending rate to 1.5% from 1.25% earlier in the day. However, the single currency remained under pressure amid concerns over sovereign debt contagion in the euro zone.
The greenback was also up against the pound, with GBP/USD sliding 0.19% to hit 1.5971.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England held its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5% in a widely expected decision.
Elsewhere, the greenback posted gains against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY easing up 0.12% to hit 81.01 and USD/CHF gaining 0.53% to hit 0.8437.
Official data released earlier showed that Swiss consumer price inflation declined in line with expectations last month as the near record strength of the franc capped import prices.
A separate report showed that Japanese core machinery orders rose broadly in line with market expectations in May.
In contrast, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD slipping 0.22% to hit 0.9632, AUD/USD rising 0.36% to hit 1.0739 and NZD/USD inching up 0.04% to hit 0.8272.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that Australian employers added more jobs in June than analysts forecast.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22%.
Later in the day, U.S. payroll processing firm ADP was to publish a report on non-farm payrolls. The U.S. was also to publish official data on initial jobless claims.
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