Investing.com - The euro gave up gains against the U.S. dollar and slipped to an almost one-year low against the pound on Wednesday, after the European Central Bank allotted a record amount of loans to European lenders in a refinancing operation.
During European late morning trade, the euro pared gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.07% to hit 1.3093, down from the session high of 1.3196.
The ECB allotted EUR489.19 billion in unlimited three-year loans to 523 European banks in an attempt to avert a liquidity crunch in the euro zone. It is hoped that the funds may also be used by lenders to purchase the sovereign debt of indebted euro zone members, easing pressure on borrowing costs.
The amount allotted was the largest ever for a longer-term refinancing operation by the ECB and indicated that lenders believe funding problems are likely to persist into 2012.
The euro slumped to an 11-month trough against the pound, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.20% to hit 0.8334.
In the U.K., the minutes of the Bank of England’s December meeting showed that policymakers believed the balance of risks for growth and the outlook for inflation had not significantly altered from the previous month, but indicated that the bank may increase its asset purchase program in the New Year.
The minutes came after a report by researchers GfK showed that consumer confidence in the U.K. weakened in December, hitting the lowest level since February 2009.
The single currency remained fractionally higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with EUR/JPY inching up 0.03% to hit 101.92 and EUR/CHF easing up 0.08% to hit 1.2197.
The Bank of Japan kept its interest rate unchanged close to zero earlier, but downgraded its economic outlook from last month on mounting evidence of the effects of the euro zone’s debt crisis on global growth and Japan's recovery prospects.
Elsewhere, the euro was broadly lower against the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/CAD shedding 0.41% to hit 1.3417, EUR/AUD falling 0.58% to hit 1.2900 and EUR/NZD losing 0.49% to hit 1.6945.
Official data released earlier showed that New Zealand posted a current account deficit of NZD4.60 billion in the fourth quarter, more than the NZD3.77 billion deficit expected.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to produce industry data on existing home sales.
During European late morning trade, the euro pared gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.07% to hit 1.3093, down from the session high of 1.3196.
The ECB allotted EUR489.19 billion in unlimited three-year loans to 523 European banks in an attempt to avert a liquidity crunch in the euro zone. It is hoped that the funds may also be used by lenders to purchase the sovereign debt of indebted euro zone members, easing pressure on borrowing costs.
The amount allotted was the largest ever for a longer-term refinancing operation by the ECB and indicated that lenders believe funding problems are likely to persist into 2012.
The euro slumped to an 11-month trough against the pound, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.20% to hit 0.8334.
In the U.K., the minutes of the Bank of England’s December meeting showed that policymakers believed the balance of risks for growth and the outlook for inflation had not significantly altered from the previous month, but indicated that the bank may increase its asset purchase program in the New Year.
The minutes came after a report by researchers GfK showed that consumer confidence in the U.K. weakened in December, hitting the lowest level since February 2009.
The single currency remained fractionally higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with EUR/JPY inching up 0.03% to hit 101.92 and EUR/CHF easing up 0.08% to hit 1.2197.
The Bank of Japan kept its interest rate unchanged close to zero earlier, but downgraded its economic outlook from last month on mounting evidence of the effects of the euro zone’s debt crisis on global growth and Japan's recovery prospects.
Elsewhere, the euro was broadly lower against the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/CAD shedding 0.41% to hit 1.3417, EUR/AUD falling 0.58% to hit 1.2900 and EUR/NZD losing 0.49% to hit 1.6945.
Official data released earlier showed that New Zealand posted a current account deficit of NZD4.60 billion in the fourth quarter, more than the NZD3.77 billion deficit expected.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to produce industry data on existing home sales.