U.S. Dollar Rises, Focus On U.S. Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, as traders await the inflation due Thursday for signals on U.S. Federal Reserve's action on interest rate cut.

Traders await the core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) price index tomorrow and GDP figures today, for getting clues on when the central bank is likely to cut rates.

The inflation data could have a notable impact on the outlook for interest rates, as U.S. Fed officials have said they need greater confidence that inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

Tuesday, the currency rebounded from early losses against its major counterparts.

In the Asian trading today, the U.S. dollar rose to nearly a 2-week high of 1.3559 against the Canadian dollar, from Tuesday's closing value of 1.3527. The greenback may test resistance near the 1.36 region.

Against the euro and the pound, the greenback advanced to a 2-day high of 1.0816 and a 6-day high of 1.2644 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0844 and 1.2658, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.07 against the euro and 1.25 against the pound.

Against the Swiss franc and the yen, the greenback rose to 2-day highs of 0.8814 and 150.79 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.8783 and 150.50, respectively. The greenback may test resistance near 0.89 against the franc and 151.00 against the yen.

Looking ahead, the European Commission is set to release euro area economic sentiment survey data for February at 5:00 am ET in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. MBA mortgage approvals data, Canada current account data for the fourth quarter, U.S. GDP data for the fourth quarter, U.S. good trade balance for January, core PCE price data for the fourth quarter, wholesale inventories for January, and EIA crude oil data are slated for release.

At 9:00 am ET, ECB Member of the supervisory board Elizabeth McCaul will speak at industry outreach conference on counterparty credit risk management (CCR) organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in collaboration with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in New York, U.S.A.

At 10:30 am ET, Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann takes part in Financial Times panel discussion, in London, U.K.

At 12:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will deliver a speech on monetary policy and the economy before the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, in Roswell, Georgia.

At 12:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins will speak in a fireside chat before an event hosted by the Center for Business, Government and Society at the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business, in Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.

Half-an-hour later, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will participate in hybrid economic briefing organized by the Long Island Association, in Garden city, New York, U.S.