FXS: Dollar mixed against major rivals after upbeat ISM report
Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against most other major currencies on Tuesday, following better-than-expected data on the U.S. manufacturing sector and an interest rate hike by Canada's central bank.
The dollar fell versus sterling and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD rising 1.12% to hit 1.4698 and USD/CHF shedding 0.27% to hit 1.1517. Earlier in the day, a report showed that Britain's manufacturing sector expanded at the same sharp pace in May as in April.
The greenback was also down against its New Zealand counterpart and the yen, with NZD/USD gaining 0.23% to reach 0.6822 and USD/JPY slipping 0.02% to reach 91.25.
But the greenback climbed versus the euro, with EUR/USD dropping 0.04% to hit 1.2301.
The single European currency earlier hit a new 4-year low against the greenback at 1.2112, on rising tensions in the Middle East and fears that the euro zone debt crisis will spread to the region's banking system. On Monday, the European Central Bank warned euro zone banks faced up to EUR 195 billion in a "second wave" of potential loan losses.
The greenback was also up against the loonie and Aussie: USD/CAD rose 0.01% to hit 1.0447 and AUD/USD fell 0.63% to hit 0.8406.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.19%.
Also Tuesday, the BoC key interest rate by a quarter-point to 0.5%, becoming the first of the G7 major industrialized nations to hike interest rates following the outbreak of the global financial crisis.
In a statement, the central bank said: "Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments."
