U.S. Dollar Drops Amid Soft ADP Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar declined against its major counterparts in the New York session on Wednesday, as the nation's private sector job growth slowed more than expected in January.

Data from payroll processor ADP showed that private sector employment rose by 107,000 jobs in January after climbing by a downwardly revised 158,000 jobs in December.

Economists had expected private sector employment to increase by 145,000 jobs compared to the addition of 164,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Federal Reserve will announce its monetary policy decision at 2 pm ET and market participants largely expect the committee to keep interest rate unchanged at 5.50 percent.

Optimism about a March rate cut has faded recently, with many economists now suggesting the Fed will wait until May to begin lowering rates.

The greenback fell to a 5-day low of 1.0863 against the euro and a fresh 2-week low of 0.8596 against the franc, from a previous high of 1.0806 and a 2-day high of 0.8643, respectively. The greenback is seen finding support around 1.10 against the euro and 0.83 against the franc.

The greenback weakened to 1.2715 against the pound and 147.36 against the yen, off its early highs of 1.2666 and 147.89, respectively. The greenback is poised to challenge support around 1.31 against the pound and 137.5 against the yen.

The greenback dropped to a fresh 2-week low of 0.6153 against the kiwi and more than a 2-week low of 1.3387 against the loonie, from its early highs of 0.6108 and 1.3437, respectively. The greenback may possibly face support around 0.64 against the kiwi and 1.28 against the loonie.

The greenback declined to 0.6607 against the aussie, down from a previous 8-day high of 0.6559. If the greenback falls further, it is likely to test support around the 0.69 region.