Forexpros – The broadly weaker U.S. dollar was down against all of its major counterparts on Monday, as risk appetite recovered on the back of hopes over a deal to contain the debt crisis in the euro zone.
During European morning trade, the greenback was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rallying 1.42% to hit 1.3567.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday that they will present a “comprehensive” package of new measures to tackle the debt crisis in the euro zone, including plans to provide fresh capital to Europe’s banks and proposals to coordinate national budget policies between euro zone member states.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.55% to hit 1.5643.
Elsewhere, the greenback slipped against the yen and declined steeply against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY sliding 0.15% to hit 76.61 and USD/CHF tumbling 1.62% to hit 0.9121.
Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a national holiday.
In addition, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD falling 0.84% to hit 1.0304, AUD/USD jumping 1.45% to hit 0.9912 and NZD/USD advancing 1.07% to hit 0.7775.
Earlier in the day, a report showed that Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet declined for a third consecutive month in September, adding to speculation over a possible rate cut by the country’s central bank.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.97% to hit 78.31.
Also Monday, U.S. Treasuries markets were to remain closed for a national holiday, while stock markets were to be open as usual.
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