Forex - Dollar broadly higher ahead of ECB policy meeting

Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was higher against almost all of its major counterparts on Thursday, as investors shunned riskier assets ahead of a European Central Bank policy-setting meeting and after worse-than-expected Australian employment data.

During European morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.17% to hit 1.4074.

The euro was pressured lower by concerns that ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet would signal a pause in the bank’s monetary tightening cycle after its rate-setting meeting later in the day.

The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.29% to hit 1.5942.

In addition, the greenback was up against both the Swiss franc and the yen, with USD/CHF rising 0.58% to hit 0.8625 and USD/JPY rising 0.17% to hit 77.37.

Earlier in the day, official data showing that Japanese machinery orders fell more-than-expected in July underlined concerns that the yen’s strong gains are having a negative impact on Japan’s recovery from the March earthquake disaster.

Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against its Canadian and Australian counterparts but lower against its New Zealand cousin, with USD/CAD adding 0.17% to hit 0.9848, AUD/USD shedding 0.41% to hit 1.0616 and NZD/USD climbing 0.31% to hit 0.8345.

Official data earlier, showing that Australia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 5.3% in August, the highest since October, added to speculation over a rate cut by the country’s central bank.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.16% to hit 75.62.

Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak. In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama was to make a speech to Congress to propose new employment measures.