Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as sustained concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis supported demand for the safe haven greenback.
During European morning trade, the dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.12% to hit 1.3296.
On Tuesday, euro zone finance ministers agreed on a plan to expand the region’s bailout fund, but said its capacity to assist indebted nations would not be as large as initially hoped. The ministers also signed off on Greece’s next tranche of bailout aid.
Sentiment was also weighed after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded its ratings on 15 global banks on Tuesday.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD declining 0.35% to hit 1.5541.
A report by Gfk showed that consumer confidence in the U.K. edged up slightly this month, but remained close to a two-year low and the outlook remains downbeat.
The data came one day after Chancellor George Osborne said the U.K. economy was now expected to grow just 0.7% in 2012, down from a March budget forecast of 2.5% growth.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.10% to hit 78.01, and USD/CHF advancing 0.16% to hit 0.9224.
Earlier Wednesday, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kiyohiko Nishimura said that Japanese policymakers must take resolute action if currency market moves are out of line with economic fundamentals.
The greenback was also higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.05% to hit 1.0328, AUD/USD sliding 0.16% to hit 0.9983 and NZD/USD shedding 0.21% to hit 0.7593.
In New Zealand, official data showed that building consents in New Zealand climbed 11.2% in October, after a 17.2% decline the previous month.
Elsewhere, a report showed that Australia private capital expenditures rose far more-than-expected in the third quarter, climbing 12.3% after a 6.2% increase the previous quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.23% to hit 79.32.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a closely watched report on non-farm payrolls compiled by payroll processing firm ADP, as well as data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area and pending home sales.
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