The dollar moved past its recent session's corrective mode against the major currencies of Europe in early New York trading on Thursday as the market focus is continued to concentrate into the political developments in the Greece and the eurozone debt vulnerability.
The dollar rose as traders seek safe-haven currencies after Greece announced it would hold fresh elections on June 17. The European Central Bank has reportedly halted monetary policy operations to some Greek lenders to restrict its risk also weighed on sentiment.
ECB President Mario Draghi is of the view that the lender would not compromise on its key principles to keep the debt-ridden nation in the euro area. Reports on Wednesday said Greece's Central bank Chief George Provopoulos told President Karolos Papoulias that people withdrew as much as 700 million euros amid the uncertainty, and banks fear about their survival.
Meanwhile, Spain's borrowing costs increased at a short-term debt auction, which met the maximum target. The treasury sold 2.5 billion euros, compared to the target range of 1.5 billion euros to 2.5 billion euros.
New claims for unemployment in the U.S held relatively level for the week, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department.
Department figures put the level of new unemployment claims at a seasonally adjusted level of 370,000 for the week ending May 12.
The new figures, while essentially unchanged from the previous week's revised level of 370,000. Additionally the Department reported that the previous figure was revised only slightly from the 367,000 initially reported.
Nevertheless, most economists had expected a slight drop in new claims to a seasonally adjusted level of 365,000.
The dollar touched 0.9483 against the Swiss franc just ahead of the opening of the session, surpassing yesterday's peak to reach a fresh 4-month high and the pair is targeting resistance above the 0.95 level.
Similarly, the greenback soared to its highest level in 4-months against the euro, rising as much as 1.2668 from a session's low of 1.2750. The next barrier for the greenback is seen its key resistance level at 1.2625 and a move above could set its strongest mark in 21-months.
The dollar also tested the key 1.5820 resistance level against the pound, hitting nearly a 2-month high of 1.5792 around 8:30 am ET. If the greenback strengthens further, likely resistance area is seen around the 1.5770 level.
Meanwhile, the dollar stabilized around the 80.20/25 level versus the yen after having reached a session's low of 80.17 in early deals. The likely support level for the dollar-yen pair is seen at 79.85 and the probable resistance could be yesterday's multi-day peak above 80.50.
Looking ahead, the results of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey are due out at 10:00 am ET. Economists expect the diffusion index of current activity to show a reading of 10 for May, up 8.5 in April.
Additionally, the Conference Board is scheduled to release a report on the U.S. leading economic indicators index for April at 10 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for a 0.1 percent increase in the leading indicators index for the month.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Forex News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.