U.S. Dollar Rises After Better-than-expected ADP Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar bounced back against its major counterparts during the New York session on Thursday, as stronger-than-expected ADP private payrolls data for December reduced possibility of early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Data from payroll processor ADP showed that private sector employment climbed by 164,000 jobs in December after rising by a downwardly revised 101,000 jobs in November.

Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 115,000 jobs compared to the addition of 103,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of December.

Nonfarm payrolls are projected to rise by 150,000 jobs, down from 199,000 jobs in November. The jobless rate is forecast to rise to 3.8 percent from 3.7 percent in the previous month.

The greenback advanced to more than 2-week highs of 144.84 against the yen and 0.6697 against the aussie, off its early lows of 142.85 and 0.6759, respectively. The greenback is poised to find resistance around 148.00 against the yen and 0.64 against the aussie.

The greenback recovered to 0.8528 against the franc and 1.2664 against the pound, from its early 2-day lows of 0.8477 and 1.2729, respectively. The greenback may find resistance around 0.90 against the franc and 1.24 against the pound.

The greenback bounced back to 1.0932 against the euro and 0.6221 against the kiwi, reversing from its early 2-day lows of 1.0972 and 0.6285, respectively. The next possible resistance for the currency is seen around 1.06 against the euro and 0.60 against the kiwi.

The greenback moved up to 1.3366 against the loonie, up from an early session's low of 1.3316. On the upside, 1.37 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.