Forex - Dollar broadly lower as risk appetite recovers

Forex News - The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Thursday, as market sentiment improved after the European Central Bank announced fresh measures to refinance European lenders.

During U.S. morning trade, the greenback was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.52% to hit 1.3420.

In his final press conference as president of the ECB, Trichet said the central bank will advance new loans to banks with maturities up to 13 months and resume covered-bond purchases.

Earlier in the day, the ECB left its interest rate unchanged at 1.5%.

But the greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD dropping 0.43% to hit 1.5394.

Earlier in the day, the Bank of England introduced fresh monetary stimulus measures to shore up the U.K. economy, which has come under pressure from government spending cuts, a slowdown in global growth and the financial crisis in the euro zone.

The bank left interest rates unchanged at a record low of 0.5%.

Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY falling 0.24% to hit 76.60 and USD/CHF declining 0.16% to hit 0.9214.

Official data showed that Swiss consumer price inflation rose more-than-expected in September, advancing 0.3% after a 0.3% drop the previous month.

Analysts had expected a flat reading for September.

Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against its Canadian counterpart but was lower against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD adding 0.16% to hit 1.0422, AUD/USD rising 0.54% to hit 0.9711 and NZD/USD easing up 0.30% to hit 0.7684.

Official data released earlier showed that Canadian building permits fell sharply in August, down for the second straight month.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.38% to hit 79.14.

Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, increasing to a seasonally adjusted 401K, from an upwardly revised 395K the previous week.