Forexpros - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Thursday, as hopes for further easing measures by the European Central Bank lifted sentiment, while the lack of fresh stimulus steps by the Federal Reserve lent support to the greenback. During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.38% to 1.2272. Expectations that the ECB may resume its bond buying program, to help lower Spanish and Italian borrowing costs, have been building since central bank President Mario Draghi pledged last week to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. In July, the ECB cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low 0.75%, in order to ease pressure on the bloc’s economy. Investors remained cautious however, amid concerns that an inadequate policy response by the ECB could send markets lower. Also Thursday, government data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain declined by 27,800 in July after dropping by 98,900 the previous month. The greenback was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.02% to 1.5539. The pound found some support after the CIPS / Markit U.K. construction purchasing managers’ index rose unexpectedly to 50.9 in, from a reading of 48.2 the previous month, beating expectations for a decline to 48.0. The data came as the Bank of England was to hold its monthly rate-setting meeting later in the day, amid expectations the bank was not to announce any change to existing monetary policy. Elsewhere, the greenback was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY inching up 0.03% to hit 78.44, and lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF falling 0.31% to trade at 0.9798. In Switzerland, official data showed earlier that retail sales rose 3.7% in June, beating expectations for a 2.8% increase, while a separate report showed that the country’s PMI rose unexpectedly to 48.6 in July from a reading of 48.1 the previous month. The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching down 0.11% to 1.0046, AUD/USD adding 0.33% to 1.0493 and NZD/USD rising 0.36% to trade at 0.8104. Official data showed that Australia’s trade balance unexpectedly swung into a surplus of AUD0.01 billion in June, from a AUD0.31 billion deficit the previous month. A separate report showed that retail sales in Australia rose more-than-expected in June, advancing 1% after a 0.8% increase the previous month and beating expectations for a 0.6% rise. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.25% to 83.01. In a widely expected decision, the U.S. central bank stopped short of launching a third round of quantitative easing, at its policy-setting meeting on Wednesday. The Fed did indicate, however, that it will "closely monitor" the economy and "will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions." Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on initial jobless claims and factory orders.

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