Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a series of U.S. economic reports later in the day, ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.
EUR/USD touched session lows of 1.2444 and was last down 0.15% to 1.2454.
The euro slid to session lows after European Central Bank vice-president Vitor Constancio said Wednesday could begin implementing quantitative easing measures as soon as the first quarter of next year.
USD/JPY was down 0.20% to 117.72, off Tuesday’s highs of 118.56.
The dollar turned broadly lower on Tuesday after lackluster data on consumer confidence and house price inflation offset a report showing that U.S. economic growth was far stronger than initially estimated in the third quarter.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index fell to a five month low in November, and another report showed that U.S. house prices rose more than expected on a year-over-year basis September, but were unchanged on a monthly basis.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after a separate report showed that the U.S. economy posted growth of 3.9% in the three months to September, far higher than the initial estimate of 3.5%.
The U.S. was to release a string of economic reports later Wednesday, including data on initial jobless claims and new home sales ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD was up 0.19% to 1.5737.
Sterling found support after data on Wednesday showed that U.K. third quarter growth was in line with the preliminary estimates released last month, but indicated that the recovery was less balanced.
Official data showed that U.K. economy grew 0.7% in the July-to-September period, and expanded 3.0% on a year-over-year basis.
The dollar gained ground against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.25% to 0.9663.
The Australian dollar touched four year lows overnight, and AUD/USD was last down 0.35% to 0.8480, while NZD/USD eased up 0.17% to 0.7819. USD/CAD eased up 0.11% to 1.1268.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, eased up 0.10% to 88.06, not far from last week’s more than four-year highs of 88.51.