Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar sank against other major currencies on Thursday following mixed U.S. data on unemployment claims and international trade, and on the back of an upbeat report on Chinese exports. The greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD surging 1.07% to hit 1.2107 after official data showed that while the United States posted a narrower-than-expected trade deficit in goods and services in April, the number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits exceeded forecasts last week. Also Thursday, the European Central Bank kept its key interest rate steady at a record low of 1%. The decision, which was widely expected, came as the bank sought to ease strains from the sovereign debt crisis that has engulfed the euro zone. Meanwhile, the dollar fell versus sterling and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD jumping 0.8% to hit 1.4646 and USD/CHF shedding 0.55% to hit 1.1423. The Bank of England also left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday, as the new British coalition government prepares an emergency budget, in order to tackle what the ratings agency Fitch has called a “formidable” debt burden. The greenback also slumped against its Australian, Canadian and New Zealand counterparts: AUD/USD shot up 2.26% to hit 0.8467, USD/CAD slid 1.2% to hit 1.032 and NZD/USD skyrocketed a massive 2.59% to reach 0.6846. In addition, the greenback was slightly down against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.01% to reach 91.26. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.85%. Earlier in the day, China's customs agency said exports jumped 48.5% in May, as imports grew 48.3%, shooting past most forecasts and producing a trade surplus of USD 19.5 billion.

Source