Investing.com - The dollar pushed higher against the euro, pound and yen on Wednesday amid caution ahead of policy decisions by the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan on Thursday and Friday’s U.S. data on nonfarm payrolls.
During European late morning trade, the dollar edged higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.10% to 1.3037.
The ECB was widely expected to leave rates on hold at 0.75% on Thursday, but concerns over the economic outlook for the region fuelled speculation over the prospect of future rate cuts.
Data on Wednesday confirmed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations and economists’ forecasts.
Meanwhile, wariness over political uncertainty in Italy lingered amid reports that Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is considering appointing a technocratic government after elections last month ended in a stalemate.
The dollar was also slightly higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.15% to 1.5102.
Sterling came under pressure ahead of the outcome of the BoE’s policy meeting amid speculation over whether the bank will resume its asset purchase program.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.16% to 93.43.
The BoJ was not widely expected to announce any changes to monetary policy, but a change of leadership later this month was expected to result in a move towards more aggressive easing measures, aimed at combating deflation.
The greenback was also higher against the Swiss franc with USD/CHF climbing 0.37% to 0.9443.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD up 0.11% to 1.0282, AUD/USD rising 0.20% to 1.0282 and NZD/USD up 0.14% to 0.8319.
The Australian dollar hit session highs earlier after official data showed that the country’s economy expanded 0.6% in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations, while third quarter growth was revised up to 0.7% from 0.5%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.10% to 82.20.
The U.S. was to publish a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls and official data on factory orders later in the trading day.
