Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Thursday, as upbeat U.S. economic data and reports of a possible Libyan peace plan boosted market sentiment.
During European morning trade, the greenback edged higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.13% to hit 1.3846.
Earlier in the day, data showed that the euro zone’s services sector grew less than initially projected in February.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD sliding 0.17% to hit 1.6293.
Elsewhere, the greenback eased down against the yen but was higher versus the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY sliding 0.09% to hit 81.77 and USD/CHF rising 0.29% to hit 0.9262.
Earlier, a government report showed that retail sales in Switzerland declined unexpectedly in January, dropping for the second consecutive month.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against its Canadian and Australian counterparts but down against its New Zealand cousin, with USD/CAD rising 0.12% to hit 0.9742, AUD/USD shedding 0.09% to hit 1.0158 and NZD/USD climbing 0.36% to hit 0.7458.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that Australian home-building approvals slumped in January, recording the biggest decline since November 2002.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.14%.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book that the labor market improved throughout the U.S. early this year, driven by increasing retail sales and “solid growth” in manufacturing.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, as well as a report on service sector activity.
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