Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Thursday, ahead of interest rate announcements by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England and as investor's awaited U.S. employment data. During European late morning trade, the greenback was down slightly against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.09% to hit 1.3141. Earlier Thursday, Spain sold the maximum targeted amount of five year bonds amid strong demand in its first debt auction of the year. But the greenback was higher against sterling with GBP/USD sliding 0.04% to hit 1.5758. Earlier in the day, official data showed that manufacturing production in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in November, while industrial production rose less-than-expected during the month. Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.06% to hit 83.05 and USD/CHF surging 0.69% to hit 0.9732. Earlier, official data showed that Japanese machinery orders unexpectedly fell in November, down for the third consecutive month. Meanwhile, the greenback was up against its Canadian counterpart but down against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD rising 0.23% to hit 0.9879, AUD/USD edging up 0.07% to hit 0.9972 and NZD/USD advancing 0.55% to hit 0.7679. Earlier Thursday, official data showed that the number of employed in Australia rose much less than forecast in December. However, the unemployment rate fell to a lower-than-expected 5.0%, from 5.2% in November. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05%. Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data, including a key weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on producer price inflation and the country's trade balance while both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England were to announce their benchmark interest rates.

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