On Wednesday the greenback got off 11-year peaks against other major currencies, impacted by the data showing the U.S. private
sector created fewer-than-expected jobs last month.
The dollar declined after payroll processing firm ADP said the U.S. private sector added 212,000 jobs in February, falling short of expectations for an increase of 220,000. January’s figure was revised up to 250,000 from a previously reported 213,000.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. is expected to release survey data on service sector activity, ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.
The euro traded close to six-week lows, with EUR/USD down 0.37% to 1.1133, off lows of 1.1116.
The common currency remained under heavy selling pressure ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank post-policy meeting press conference, where President Mario Draghi was expected to announce more details on its quantitative easing program, which is due to start this month.
Earlier Wednesday data showed that the euro zone services purchasing managers’ index ticked down to 53.7 in February from a preliminary estimate of 53.9. Although the figure was higher than January’s final reading of 52.7 it still indicated that activity in the service sector expanded at a slower pace than initially estimated.
A separate report showed that euro zone retail sales surged in January.
The greenback declined against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY touching session lows of 119.55 and USD/CHF easing to 0.9605.
The British currency declined versus its US peer, with GBP/USD down 0.16% to 1.5336 after data earlier showed that British service sector output expanded at a slower rate than expected in February, but still posted solid growth. The U.K. services PMI ticked down to 56.7 from 57.2 in January, while analysts had expected the index to rise to 57.5.
The Aussie was underpinned after data showing the economy grew in line with forecasts in the fourth quarter. The pair AUD/USD was up 0.41% to 0.7848, while NZD/USD added 0.6% to trade at 0.7599.
The loonie dipped ahead of a rate review by the Bank of Canada later in the day, with USD/CAD easing up 0.15% to 1.214. The BoC was widely expected to leave rates on hold following a surprise rate cut in January.
