Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen on Thursday and edged higher against the euro and the pound as investors awaited policy decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank later in the day, as well as Friday’s key U.S. nonfarm payrolls data.
During European late morning trade, the dollar was lower against the safe haven yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.23% to 99.67.
Meanwhile, the euro inched lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD dipping 0.06% to 1.3003.
The ECB was expected to leave interest rates on hold following its policy meeting and to reiterate that an exit from loose monetary policy remains distant.
Concerns over a political crisis in Portugal eased on Thursday, amid hopes that the government wouldn’t collapse following talks between the coalition partners overnight.
The future of the country's coalition government was thrown into doubt earlier in the week, following the resignation of country’s foreign minister and finance minister in protest over government austerity policies.
Meanwhile, investors were awaiting Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further clues on when the Federal Reserve may decide to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program.
Data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. private sector added 188,000 jobs in June, more than expectations for an increase of 160,000.
The dollar rose to session highs against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.23% to 1.5244.
The BoE was widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold after its policy meeting later Thursday, the first under the leadership of new Governor Mark Carney.
The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.18% to 0.9480.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD rising 0.60% to 0.9139, NZD/USD climbing 0.38% to 0.7808 and USD/CAD gaining 0.20% to trade at 1.0524.
The Australian dollar was boosted after the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia said comments by Governor Glenn Stevens on Wednesday about the bank’s July policy meeting had been misinterpreted by markets.
Stevens said the board "deliberated for a very long time" before deciding to keep rates on hold, fuelling speculation that the bank considered a further rate cut.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.07% to 83.46.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Thursday, with markets in the U.S. closed for the Independence Day holiday.
