Euro edges higher,
gains checked before ECB
The euro edged higher
against the dollar on Wednesday but gains were held in check as investors waited to see
if the European Central Bank would embark on outright quantitative easing this
week.
EUR/USD edged up 0.14% to
1.1568, holding above last Friday’s 11-year trough of 1.1459.
The single currency has
been pressured lower by mounting expectations that the ECB will launch a government
bond-buying program at its meeting on Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of
deflation in the euro area.
Dollar slips lower vs.
rivals as sentiment improves
The dollar slipped lower
against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as market sentiment improved ahead
of the European Central Bank's upcoming policy statement, although the greenback
still continued to trade within close distance of recent 12-year highs.
EUR/USD rose 0.21% to
1.1577, still hovering close to Friday's 11-year lows of 1.1459. Sentiment on the single
currency remained vulnerable as investors waited to see if the European Central Bank
would embark on an outright quantitative easing program on Thursday.
USD/JPY dropped 0.98% to
117.67, pulling away from the previous session's one-week highs of 118.89 after the
Bank of Japan held off on expanding its monetary easing scheme and instead
expanded a loan scheme aimed at boosting lending.
The central bank also cut
its core inflation forecast 1% from 1.7% three months ago. Elsewhere, the pound
edged lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing 0.08% to 1.5131, re-approaching
recent 18-month lows of 1.5032. Sterling shrugged off a
report by the U.K. Office for National Statistics showing that the rate of unemployment
dipped to 5.8% in the three months to November from 6.0% in the previous three
month-period and better than expectations for a reading of 5.9%.
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