Forex - Dollar mixed to higher amid Greek debt concerns

Forexpros - The U.S. dollar was mixed to higher against its major counterparts on Thursday, as markets eyed French and Spanish government debt auctions later in the day, while uncertainty over a potential Greek debt deal weighed.

During European morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.16% to hit 1.3138.

Later Thursday, Spain was to offer as much as EUR4.5 billion in short to medium term debt and France was offering up to EUR8 billion.

Meanwhile, European officials have indicated in recent days that negotiations with Greece’s private creditors on a debt restructuring deal are almost concluded, but the second bailout and any public sector involvement must also be agreed upon before a deal can be announced.

The greenback was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD edging up 0.03% to hit 1.5838.

In a report, Markit said earlier that its construction purchasing managers’ index for the U.K. fell more-than-expected in January, declining to 51.4 after a reading at 53.2 the previous month.

Analysts had expected the index to fall to 52.8 in January.

The greenback remained close to a three-month low against the yen but advanced against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.14% to hit 76.10 and USD/CHF rising 0.21% to hit 0.9173.

Earlier Thursday, official data showed that Switzerland’s trade surplus narrowed more-than-expected in December, declining to CHF2.07 billion from a surplus of CHF2.95 billion.

Analysts had expected Switzerland’s trade surplus to narrow to CHF2.85 billion in December.

Meanwhile, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi reiterated that he remains prepared to take firm measures against the appreciation of the yen if necessary.

In addition, the greenback was almost unchanged against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing up 0.04% to hit 0.9991, AUD/USD edging 0.04% higher to hit 1.0710 and NZD/USD adding 0.02% to hit 0.8327.

The Australian dollar found support after official data showed earlier that the country’s trade surplus rose more-than-expected in December.

A separate report showed that Australian new building approvals fell unexpectedly in December.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, added 0.06% to hit 79.08.

Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to testify before the House of Representatives budget committee. The U.S. was also to produce government data on initial jobless claims.