Dollar shruggs off downbeat Empire State data, remains higher vs peers

On Wednesday the dollar remained broadly higher against its peers, even after data indicated that manufacturing conditions in the New York area contracted unexpectedly in April, as markets awaited a report on U.S. industrial production later in the day.

In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index decreased to -1.2 this month from a reading of 6.9 in March. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 7.0 in April.

EUR/USD dropped 0.68% to 1.0584 after the European Central Bank said it was maintaining its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.05%, in line with market expectations. The central bank also held its marginal lending at 0.30% and left its deposit facility rate unchanged at minus 0.20%.

The British currency was also lower, with GBP/USD slipping 0.13% to 1.4763.

The greenback rose against the yen with USD/JPY up 0.18% to 119.61 and climbed versus the Swiss franc with USD/CHF rising 0.33% to 0.9757.

The commodity-exposed Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were broadly weaker, with AUD/USD declining 0.55% to 0.7585 and NZD/USD shedding 0.26% to 0.7502.

Earlier showed that while China’s economy grew 7.0% in the first quarter, matching forecasts, it was still the slowest rate of growth in six years, putting export-related currencies under pressure.

Also Wednesday, the Westpac Banking Corporation said Australian consumer sentiment fell 3.2% this month, after a 1.2% decline in March.

USD/CAD meanwhile climbed 0.51% to trade at 1.2550 after data showed that Canadian manufacturing sales dropped 1.7% in February, compared to expectations for a 0.2% fall. January's figure was revised to a 3.0% decline from a previously estimated 1.7% slide.