The US dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as investors await the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision for more clues about its rate hike plans for this year and next.
Economists forecast the interest rate to remain unchanged in the range of 2% to 2.25% at the meeting in Washington.
All eyes are on the accompanying statement to get more indications about an expected rate hike next month.
The US midterm election results came largely in line with expectations, with Democrats regaining control of the House of Representatives and Republicans holding power in the Senate.
China’s exports and imports exceeded forecasts in October despite US tariffs on Chinese goods, official data showed.
Exports grew 15.6% annually, beating forecasts for an increase of 11.7%.
Data from the Labor Department showed that first-time claims for US unemployment benefits decreased slightly in the week ended November 3.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 214,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 215,000.
The currency has been trading higher against its key counterparts in the Asian session.
The greenback rose to 113.75 against the yen, from a low of 113.47 hit at 5:15 pm ET. If the greenback rises further, it may challenge resistance around the 115.00 level.
Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan overall bank lending rose 2.2% on year in October, coming in at 529.471 trillion yen.
That follows the 2.3% increase in September.
The greenback appreciated to 1.0036 against the Swiss franc from Wednesday’s closing value of 1.0021. On the upside, 1.02 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.
Data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed that Switzerland’s unemployment rate remained stable in October.
The jobless rate came in at seasonally adjusted 2.5% in October, the same rate as seen in September and in line with expectations.
After falling to 1.1445 against the euro at 3:30 am ET, the greenback reversed direction and edged up to 1.1404. The greenback is seen finding resistance around the 1.13 level.
Data from Destatis showed that Germany’s exports and imports declined unexpectedly in September.
Exports dropped 0.8% month-on-month, reversing a 0.1% rise in August. At the same time, imports slid 0.4% following August’s 2.4% decrease.
The greenback reached as high as 1.3087 against the pound, up from a low of 1.3150 touched at 3:50 am ET. Next key resistance for the greenback is seen around the 1.28 level.
On the flip side, the greenback held steady against the kiwi, after having advanced to 0.6770 at 6:30 am ET. At Wednesday’s close, the pair was worth 0.6784.
The greenback dropped to 0.7299 against the Aussie and 1.3088 against the Loonie, from its early highs of 0.7265 and 1.3126, respectively. The greenback is likely to find support around 0.74 against the Aussie and 1.28 against the Loonie.
