WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The dollar extended its gains from Tuesday afternoon at the start of Wednesday's session, but have since pared their gains as the day has progressed. The buck shot higher yesterday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen hinted at the need for interest rate hikes.
'We should be wary of moving too gradually,' Yellen said in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics meeting in Cleveland.
'Given that monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation with a substantial lag, it would be imprudent to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation is back to 2%,' she said.
New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods jumped by more than anticipated in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The report said durable goods orders surged up by 1.7 percent in August after plunging by 6.8 percent in July. Economists had expected orders to climb by 1.0 percent.
A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday showed a steep drop in pending home sales in the U.S. in the month of August. NAR said its pending home sales index plunged by 2.6 percent to 106.3 in August from 109.1 in July. The index had been expected to dip by 0.5 percent.
The dollar climbed to over a 1-month high of $1.1716 against the Euro Wednesday, but has since retreated to around $1.1760.
Eurozone monetary aggregate grew at a faster pace in August, data from the European Central Bank showed Wednesday. The broad monetary aggregate M3 climbed 5 percent year-on-year in August, faster than the 4.5 percent increase seen in July. This was also faster than the expected 4.6 percent.
France's consumer sentiment weakened unexpectedly in September, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday. The consumer confidence index fell to 101 in September from 103 in August. This was the third consecutive fall and marked the lowest since April, when the score was 100.
The buck rose to nearly a 2-week high of $1.3358 against the pound sterling Wednesday, but has since eased back to around $1.34.
British retail sales grew the most in two years in September, the latest Distributive Trades survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed Wednesday. The retail sales balance rose to 42 percent in September, the highest since September 2015, when the score was 49 percent. A balance of 23 percent expect sales volume to increase next month.
The greenback broke out to over a 2-month high of Y113.229 against the Japanese Yen Wednesday morning, but has since pulled back to around Y112.700.
Japan's small business confidence improved as expected in September, after weakening in the prior month, survey data from Shoko Chukin Bank showed Wednesday. The small business sentiment rose to 49.4 in September from 49.0 in August. The figure also matched consensus estimate.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX