US dollar gains on strong economic data

The US dollar rose on Wednesday, as investors were digesting a batch of economic reports.

In late New York trading, the euro decreased to $1.1887 from $1.1993 in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to $1.2922 from $1.2928 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar decreased to $0.7897 from $0.7963.

The US dollar bought 110.41 Japanese yen, higher than 109.57 yen of the previous session.

The US dollar rose to 0.9634 Swiss franc from 0.9534 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.2634 Canadian dollars from 1.2528 Canadian dollars.

US private sector employment increased by 237,000 jobs in August, well above the market consensus of 185,000, according to ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday.

The ADP report is often seen as a preview for the closely-watched US nonfarm payrolls data due out on Friday.

US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3 per cent in the second quarter of 2017, according to the second estimate released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The market has been closely watching the Federal Reserve's next move.

Expectations for tighter monetary policy in the United States have been dampened recently by soft inflation data. Market expectations for a rate hike in December are just 35.7 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.68 per cent at 92.877 in late trading.

--IANS

pgh/