Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major rivals on Wednesday, as risk appetite staged a modest comeback, dampening demand for safe haven currencies but uncertainty over Japan’s nuclear emergency continued.
During European morning trade, the greenback eased up against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.13% to hit 80.82.
Japanese authorities were battling to contain the fallout from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was hit by the earthquake and tsunami that engulfed coastal regions of Japan on Friday.
The greenback was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD sliding 0.26% to hit 1.3960.
Earlier in the day, Moody’s Investor Services announced a downgrade of Portugal’s long-term government bond ratings, saying the country will continue to face low growth and funding pressure for years, even if it accesses the European Union’s bailout fund.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against the Swiss franc but down against the pound with USD/CHF climbing 0.28% to hit 0.9191 and GBP/USD edging up 0.11% to hit 1.6098.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD shedding 0.43% to hit 0.9813, AUD/USD gaining 0.24% to hit 0.9934 and NZD/USD climbing 0.33% to hit 0.7341.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.14%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a flurry of data, with reports on building permits as well as data on producer price inflation, housing starts and crude oil stockpiles.
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