Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Thursday, as market sentiment was hit after Spanish borrowing costs rose to a euro-era high following a 10-year government bond auction.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.10% to hit 1.3477.
Spain’s Treasury sold EUR3.56 billion of 10-year bonds at a yield of 6.97% compared with 5.43% when it auctioned debt maturing in April 2021 last month.
The bank had set a maximum target of EUR4 billion for the sale.
Meanwhile, France sold EUR3.33 billion of 2016 notes at a yield of 2.82% compared to 2.31% at a similar auction last month, fanning fears over sovereign debt contagion to core euro zone economies.
Following the auction, the European Central Bank resumed purchases of Spanish government debt to ease pressure on borrowing costs.
But the greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD 0.12% to hit 1.5749.
Official data showed that U.K. retail sales rose unexpectedly in October, climbing 0.6% after a 0.5% rise the previous month. Analysts had expected retail sales to fall 0.2% in October.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against the yen and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY declining 0.06% to hit 77.00, and USD/CHF advancing 0.07% to hit 0.9202.
In Switzerland, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said its indicator of economic sentiment fell by 9.9 points to minus 64.3 in November from a reading of minus 54.4 in October.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan said the country’s economic activity has continued picking up, although at a more moderate pace, and that the value of the yen against the greenback remained at more or less the same levels as last month.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.14% to hit 1.0257, AUD/USD falling 0.30% to hit 1.0051 and NZD/USD declining 0.22% to hit 0.7639.
In New Zealand, official data showed that producer price inflation input rose 0.6% in the third quarter, in line with expectations, after a 0.9% increase the previous quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.11% to hit 78.42.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on initial jobless claims, building permits and housing starts and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
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