Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was down against almost all of its major counterparts on Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave no indication that the U.S. central bank will move to tighten policy anytime soon
During European morning trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.31% to hit 1.4833.
In his first ever post-policy meeting press conference on Wednesday, Bernanke said that the central bank, which left interest rates unchanged, “will complete” its USD600 billion bond-buying program by the end of June and hold short-term rates at a record low for an “extended period.”
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.35% to hit 1.6684.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY falling 0.65% to hit 81.60 and USD/CHF sliding 0.23% to hit 0.8724.
The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady earlier Thursday, in a widely expected decision.
Meanwhile, the greenback fell against its Canadian and Australian counterparts but gained against its New Zealand cousin, with USD/CAD slipping 0.21% to hit 0.9477, AUD/USD climbing 0.48% to hit 1.0924 and NZD/USD shedding 0.48% to hit 0.8040.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 2.5% and called the local currency’s rise “unwelcome”.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.34%.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish advance data on first quarter gross domestic product, as well as official data on initial jobless claims.
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