IV:Dollar broadly higher after Fed, markets eye BoE and ECB
Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve failed to indicate when it will begin to taper its stimulus program, while investors eyed policy statements by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank later in the day.
During European morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD retreating 0.45% to 1.3242.
At the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed said it would keep buying USD85 billion a month in mortgage and Treasury securities and added that the pace of economic growth is "modest".
Market players were looking ahead to highly-anticipated data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls due on Friday for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing.
In the euro zone, Markit research group said its manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.3 in July, from a reading of 50.1 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
Germany's manufacturing PMI ticked up to 50.7 in July from 50.3 the previous month, compared to expectations for the index to hold steady.
But sentiment on the euro remained fragile ahead of the ECB's upcoming policy statement, as well as ECB President Mario Draghi's traditional press conference.
The greenback was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD easing 0.05% to 1.5200.
Markit said the U.K. manufacturing PMI rose to 54.6 last month, from a reading of 52.9 in June. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 52.8 in July.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.74% to trade at 98.61, and with USD/CHF gaining 0.40% to 0.9299.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD adding 0.17% to 1.0294, AUD/USD falling 0.20% to 0.8967 and NZD/USD dropping 0.54% to 0.7943.
Industry data earlier showed that new home sales in Australia rose 3.4% in June, after a 1.6% increase the previous month.
Separately, the export-related stocks found some support after a government report showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.3 in July from 50.1 in June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.38% to 82.06.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on weekly unemployment claims, followed by a report by the Institute of Supply Management on manufacturing activity.
