US dollar rises amid Fed decision

The US dollar rose against most major currencies after the Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rates unchanged.

In late New York trading on Wednesday, the euro decreased to $1.1622 from $1.1653, and the British pound decreased to $1.3254 from $1.3281, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar increased to $0.7669 from $0.7660.

The US dollar bought 114.18 Japanese yen, higher than 113.68 yen of the previous session. The US dollar increased to 1.0031 Swiss franc from 0.9973 Swiss franc, and it edged down to 1.2878 Canadian dollars from 1.2899 Canadian dollars.

The US labor market "has continued to strengthen" and economic activity "has been rising at a solid rate" despite hurricane-related disruptions, the Fed's policy-making committee said in a statement on Wednesday, after its two-day meeting.

On the economic front, US private sector employment increased by 235,000 jobs from September to October, beating market estimates, said the October ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday.

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

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.23 per cent at 94.772 in late trading.

--IANS

pgh/