Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was mixed against the other major currencies on Thursday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. jobless data later in the day, after a recent string of upbeat economic reports fuelled optimism over the strength of the U.S. recovery.
During European morning trade, the dollar was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/USD easing 0.07% to 1.2952.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable after Italy on Wednesday saw the yield on three-year bonds rise to the highest level since December at the first auction of the country’s debt since a one-notch downgrade by Fitch’s ratings agency last week in the wake of inconclusive elections.
Markets were also jittery as European Union leaders were to hold the first day of a two day economic summit, later Thursday.
The greenback was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.10% to 1.4938.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.28% to trade at 96.38, and with USD/CHF edging up 0.25% to 0.9547.
Earlier in the day, the Swiss National Bank left the Libor rate unchanged, close to zero, in a widely expected move.
Following the decision, the SNB reiterated its determination to maintain the Swiss franc 1.20 cap against the euro.
The greenback was steady to lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.02% to 1.0274, AUD/USD climbing 0.45% to 1.0324 and NZD/USD easing 0.01% to 0.8181.
In a widely expected move, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 2.50%, although central bank officials threatened to cut interest rates in the future, if the currency appreciates unreasonably.
Meanwhile, official data showed that the Australian economy added 71,500 jobs in February, exceeding expectations for a 9,000 rise, after an increase of 13,000 jobs the previous month.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate in Australia remained unchanged at 5.4% last month, compared to expectations for a rise to 5.5%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05% to 83.24.
The greenback remained supported after Wednesday's positive U.S. retail sales data added to optimism that the country's recovery is gaining traction after data last week showed that the economy added more jobs than expected in February, bringing the unemployment rate to a four-year low of 7.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on producer price inflation and the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.
