Forex Pros  – The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as risk appetite was bolstered by upbeat Chinese economic data, while concerns over sovereign debt contagion in the euro zone eased somewhat.

During European morning trade, the greenback was weaker against the euro, with EUR/USD climbing 0.62% to hit 1.4062.

In the euro zone, attention began to focus on an emergency summit of European Union leaders due to be held on Friday, after policymakers acknowledged that some form of Greek default may be necessary in order to put the country’s debt on a more sustainable footing and prevent contagion to Italy and Spain.

The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.17% to hit 1.5943.

Earlier in the day, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. rose significantly more-than-expected in June.

Elsewhere, the greenback clung to gains against the yen but slipped against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY easing up 0.03% to hit 79.24 and USD/CHF shedding 0.20% to hit 0.8289.

The dollar pulled back from a four-month low against the yen earlier after Japan’s finance minister called the dollar’s drop “a little one-sided.”

Elsewhere, official data showed that Switzerland’s producer price index fell more-than-expected in June.

Meanwhile, the greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.50% to hit 0.9616, AUD/USD advancing 0.77% to hit 1.0680 and NZD/USD rallying 0.96% to hit 0.8260.

Earlier in the day, official data showed that Chinese gross domestic product expanded by 9.5% in the second quarter, easing concerns over a sharp slowdown in the rate of growth in the world’s second largest economy.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.43%.

Elsewhere, Tuesday’s minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June policy-setting meeting showed that some policymakers believe further monetary easing may be necessary if the U.S. recovery remains sluggish or if inflation moderates.

Forexpros
Forexpros