By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar added to recent gains in Asian trading hours Thursday, but investors were wary ahead of an interest-rate meeting at the European Central Bank.
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.05% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, reached 79.199, up from 79.151 in late North American trading Wednesday.
“Liquidity conditions were thin in Asia owing to the Japanese holiday, but the broad bias has been one of caution,†said Sue Trinh, strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
The dollar index had advanced Wednesday after data showed unemployment in the euro zone hit its highest level since the introduction of the shared currency, and manufacturing data weakened as well.
The European Central Bank meets Thursday to decide on interest-rate levels, which the market widely expects to stay at 1% for another month. The meeting takes place ahead of the weekend presidential run-off vote in France and elections in Greece.
“The ECB Governing Council thinks that it has done its bit for now, with no further rate cuts or immediate changes to liquidity provisions,†said Trinh.
The euro EURUSD -0.01% traded at $1.3144 Thursday, down from $1.3157 late Wednesday.
The British pound GBPUSD -0.01% changed hands at $1.6185, falling from $1.6203. This month, the ECB and the Bank of England are holding interest-rate meetings on different dates, with the BOE not due to meet until next Thursday.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.02% traded at $1.0299, down from $1.0329, extending its losses after a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar USDJPY +0.06% bought ¥80.19, inching up from ¥80.16 in late trading on Wednesday.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
