Investing.com - The dollar held steady against other major currencies on Thursday, as investors were still digesting recent U.S. political events and eyeing the Bank of England’s upcoming policy decision due later in the day.
EUR/USD edged up 0.09% to 1.0876.
Markets were still jittery after U.S. President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.
Comey had been leading his agency's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
But the greenback remained supported by mounting expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month.
Meanwhile, the euro showed little reaction to comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday saying it is too early for the central bank to declare success in its quest to spur inflation in the euro area despite signs the bloc's economic recovery is gaining traction.
The remarks indicated that the ECB is in no rush to raise interest rates or wind down its stimulus program.
GBP/USD slipped 0.24% to 1.2910 after the U.K. Office for National Statistics said manufacturing production fell 0.6% in March, compared to expectations for a 0.2% decline of 0.2%.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production increased 2.3% in March, below forecasts for a 3.0% advance.
The report also showed that industrial production fell 0.5% in March, compared to forecasts for a 0.3% decrease.
Later Thursday, the BoE was expected to leave its monetary policy unchanged. Investors were especially eyeing the central bank’s policy statement for indications on future policy moves.
USD/JPY edged down 0.10% to 114.18, while USD/CHF fell 0.15% to 1.0075.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7369, while NZD/USD dropped 0.64% to trade at 0.6847.
Earlier Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its benchmark interest rate at 1.75% on Thursday and indicated that a tightening of monetary policy was further away than markets had anticipated.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.40% to 1.3710.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 99.48, just off the previous session’s two-and-a-half week high of 99.61.