Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar fell to multi-years lows against its major counterparts on Thursday, as concerns over fiscal problems and low interest rates in the U.S. prompted investors to embrace higher yielding currencies.
During European early afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD advancing 0.57% to hit 1.4607.
Earlier in the day, the Ifo Institute said it’s business climate index for Germany slipped to 110.4 in April from a reading of 111.1 in March. The decline was in line with expectations.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD jumping 0.93% to hit 1.6562.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that U.K. retail sales rose unexpectedly in March, while public sector borrowing for the fiscal year ending in March came in below the government’s target.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY shedding 0.64% to hit 82.01 and USD/CHF dropping 0.63% to hit 0.8824.
In addition, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD shedding 0.33% to hit 0.9470, AUD/USD climbing 0.43% to hit 1.0761 and NZD/USD rising 0.53% to hit 0.8020.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that Australian producer price inflation rose more-than-expected in the first quarter, driven by rising fuel and food costs.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.61% to hit a three-year low.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims and house prices. Also Thursday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia was to publish an index of manufacturing activity.
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