FX:Forex - Dollar lower vs. rivals amid euro zone debt hopes
Forexpros - The U.S. dollar was lower against its major counterparts on Monday, as new hopes for progress in tackling the debt crisis in the euro zone supported demand for riskier assets.
During European morning trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.40% to hit 1.3445.
The single currency found support as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepared to meet later in the day, in order to fine-tune proposals they plan to present at Friday's EU summit.
Market sentiment also strengthened after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a EUR30 billion package on Sunday, raising taxes and increasing the pension age in a drive to shore up Italy's strained finances.
Earlier Monday, data showed that investor confidence in the euro zone fell more-than-expected this month, remaining in negative territory for the fifth consecutive month.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.20% to hit 1.5628.
Data showed earlier that U.K. service sector activity rose unexpectedly in November, advancing for the eleventh successive month although at a modest pace as incoming new business increased at the slowest rate of the year so far.
Market said that its services purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.1 after a reading at 51.3 in October. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 50.6 in November.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY easing down 0.05% to hit 77.94, and USD/CHF shedding 0.02% to hit 0.9211.
The greenback was also lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD declining 0.30% to hit 1.0164, AUD/USD rising 0.36% to hit 1.0251 and NZD/USD climbing 0.48% to hit 0.7813.
In Australia, industry data showed that job advertisements were flat in November while a separate report showed that company operating profits fell less-than-expected in the third quarter.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.27% to hit 78.53.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on service sector activity. The U.S. was also to publish government data on factory orders.
