U.S. Dollar Rises Amid Reduced Bet On Fed Rate Cut, FOMC Minutes

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against most major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, due to reduced bets on the U.S. Fed's more aggressive policy easing.

Following hotter-than-expected US July PPI data, traders lowered their expectations for a Fed rate drop in September.

The safe-haven USD also receives some support from reduced chances of a more aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed) following a spike in US July wholesale prices.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release the minutes of its July 29-30 meeting later in the day.

For more hints on US interest rate policy, traders await the Fed's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium later Friday. Investors are watching to see if Fed Chair Jerome Powell would resist the September rate decrease that the market is pricing in.

In the Asian trading today, the U.S. dollar rose to a 6-day high of 0.8093 against the Swiss franc and nearly a 3-month low of 1.3884 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.8079 and 1.3867, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.82 against the franc and 1.40 against the loonie.

Against the euro and the pound, the greenback advanced to 8-day highs of 1.1623 and 1.3462 from Tuesday's closing quotes of 1.1642 and 1.3485, respectively. The greenback may test resistance around 1.13 against the euro and 1.32 against the pound.

Looking ahead, U.S. MBA mortgage approvals data, Canada new housing price index for July and U.S. EIA crude oil data are due to be released in the New York session.

At 2:00 pm ET, U.S. FOMC minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting is set to be published.