Forexpros - The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts in subdued year-end trade on Thursday, as investors eyed an Italian bond auction later in the day after a previous debt sale failed to strengthen market sentiment. During European late morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.15% to hit 1.2921, hovering close to a one-year low. With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were thin, resulting in tight liquidity conditions and irregular volatility. The euro came under pressure as Italy was preparing to sell EUR8.5 billion of long-term debt maturing between 2014 and 2022, later Thursday. Ahead of the auction, the yield on Italian 10-year bonds traded slightly above the 7% threshold, a level widely considered unsustainable. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank said M3 money supply in the single currency bloc rose at annualized rate of 2.0% in November, below expectations for a gain of 2.5%. M3 money supply in the euro zone rose 2.6% in the preceding month. The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.18% to hit 1.5430. Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen and but moderately higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY retreating 0.18% to hit 77.79 and USD/CHF easing up 0.08% to hit 0.9435. The greenback was lower against its Canadian but higher against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD declining 0.11% to hit 1.0233, AUD/USD easing 0.07% to hit 1.0085 and NZD/USD falling 0.05% to hit 0.7684. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose 0.11% to hit 80.99. Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales and business conditions in the Chicago area.

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