US dollar rises amid Fed's upbeat beige book

The US dollar rebounded in late trading on Wednesday, as investors got some relief from the US Federal Reserve's latest beige book, which reported upswings in the country's economic activities.

"Economic activity expanded at a modest pace overall from April through mid-May, a slight improvement over the previous period. Almost all Districts reported some growth, and a few saw moderate gains in activity," said the book released on Wednesday.

The beige book is a regular report of the US central bank on current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, based on information collected from various sources, including research reports and interviews with business contacts, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Employment continued to increase across the country, with most districts reporting modest or moderate job growth. Growth was also seen in residential construction, real estate and tourism activity.

Yet despite generally positive conditions in the manufacturing sector, some districts noted signs of slowing activity and a more uncertain outlook. Agricultural conditions also remained weak overall.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.26 per cent at 97.3205 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the Euro was down to 1.1227 dollars from 1.1259 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2693 dollars from 1.2704 US dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar fell to 0.6965 dollar from 0.6997 dollar.

The US dollar bought 108.41 Japanese Yen, higher than 108.05 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.9942 Swiss Franc from 0.9907 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.3423 Canadian dollars from 1.3395 Canadian dollars.

--IANS

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