Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as risk appetite sharpened and concerns over Standard & Poor’s downgrade of its outlook on U.S. credit ratings eased.
During European morning trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD advancing 0.74% to hit 1.4438.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that German producer price inflation rose less-than-expected in March.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.31% to hit 1.6364.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen but down against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY climbing 0.32% to hit 82.84 and USD/CHF shedding 0.59% to hit 0.8943.
Earlier Wednesday, a government report showed that Japan recorded a smaller-than-expected trade surplus in March and exports fell more than expected year-on-year, due to disruptions from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD shedding 0.39% to hit 0.9521, AUD/USD rallying 0.85% to hit 1.0615 and NZD/USD jumping 0.97% to hit 0.7963.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Australian export prices rose faster than import prices in the first quarter, fuelling expectations for rate increases by the country’s central bank this year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.54%.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales.
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