Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Thursday, amid ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis after well-received French and Spanish government bond auctions.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.35% to hit 1.3494.
Spain’s Treasury auctioned the full targeted amount of EUR3.75 billion of government bonds, with yields staying below the critical 7% threshold. The average yield on Spain’s five-year bonds was 5.54%, compared with 4.84% in early November.
Meanwhile, France auctioned EUR4.5 billion of debt, including EUR1.57 billion of 10-year bonds at an average yield of 3.18%, down from 3.22% at a similar auction last month.
Market sentiment was hit earlier, as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said downside risks to the economic outlook have increased.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.12% to hit 1.5721.
But the pound remained vulnerable after a report earlier showed that manufacturing activity in the U.K. contracted for a second successive month in November.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen but down against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY gaining 0.11% to hit 77.70, and USD/CHF declining 0.44% to hit 0.9091.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that Switzerland’s gross domestic product expanded in line with expectations in the third quarter, growing by 0.2%, bringing the annualized rate of growth to 1.3%.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in Switzerland fell more-than-expected in November, contracting for the third consecutive month.
In Japan, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said the government will compile a fourth spending package this fiscal year to help companies cope with the strong yen, but did not provide details on the funding.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.01% to hit 1.0179, AUD/USD sliding 0.50% to hit 1.0230 and NZD/USD shedding 0.34% to hit 0.7779.
Official data showed earlier that retail sales in Australia rose less-than-expected in September, while building approvals dropped unexpectedly in October.
A separate report showed that Australian commodity prices rose 18.1% in November, after a 19.6% increase the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.23% to hit 79.32.
Also Thursday, official data showed that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted in November for the first time in nearly three years, adding to concerns over a global economic slowdown.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release its weekly report on initial jobless claims, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity.
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