Forexpros –
Forexpros – The U.S. dollar moved higher against its major counterparts in U.S. trade Friday, as the resignation of a key European Central Bank official renewed concerns over European debt and sent the euro tumbling to its lowest level since February.
In afternoon U.S. trade, the greenback was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling sharply by 1.51% to hit 1.3672.
Earlier Friday, European Central Bank Governing Council member Juergen Stark, told ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet he would be leaving his post on the six-member Executive Board for “personal reasons.”
Last month, it was widely reported that Stark was opposed to the ECB’s resumption of its bond-buying program where it purchased large amounts of Spanish and Italian debt in an effort to curb the spread of debt contagion in the euro-zone.
Stark’s resignation reignited concerns over Europe’s ongoing debt crisis and plans for the European Financial Stability Facility, a rescue fund for debt threatened euro-zone members.
The greenback maintained momentum against its counterparts despite a sharp drop on Wall Street. In late afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.94% to 10,964.43, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.81% to 2,457.64, and the S&P 500 surrendered 2.97% to trade at 1,150.77.
Thursday evening’s speech by U.S. President Barack Obama where he proposed
USD447 billion in economic stimulus, appeared to have a negligible effect on investors as the deal was likely to face stiff opposition in the Republican-held House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the greenback was up against the British pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.49% to hit 1.5878.
The dollar was higher against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY advancing 0.09% to hit 77.43, and USD/CHF higher by 0.87% to hit 0.8832.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD up 0.72% to hit 0.9967, AUD/USD down 1.13% to hit 1.0455, and NZD/USD dropping 1.11% to hit 0.8213.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 1.15% at 77.23.
A meeting of G-7 finance officials in Marseille, France was scheduled to wrap up later Friday.
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