WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar advanced against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Wednesday, but kept paring gains as the day progressed with traders shifting their focus to the upcoming jobs data, due on Friday.
The dollar index, which rose to 90.25, gradually drifted down to 89.89 by the time the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, said the U.S. economy expanded at a somewhat faster rate from early April to late May.
However, the Beige Book still described the pace of economic growth as moderate.
The Fed said the effects of expanded vaccination rates were most notable in consumer spending, as increased leisure travel and restaurant spending augmented ongoing strength in other spending categories.
Against the Euro, the dollar pared gains after firming to $1.2165. It was last seen at $1.2211, up marginally from the previous close. Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated sharply in April driven by higher energy prices, data from Eurostat showed. Producer price inflation rose to 7.6% in April from 4.3% in March. This was also bigger than economists' forecast of 7.3%.
The Pound Sterling was stronger against the dollar, fetching $1.4171 a unit.
The Yen was slightly weak at 109.55 a dollar, compared to 109.50 Tuesday evening.
The Aussie was roughly flat against the dollar with the AUD-USD quoting at 0.7752. Australia's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 1.8% on quarter in the first three months of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. That beat expectations for an increase of 1.5% following the 3.1% spike in the previous three months.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar was slightly stronger, fetching CHF0.8982 a unit, up from CHF0.8973.
The Loonie firmed to C$1.2035 from C$1.2071 a dollar, as crude oil prices rallied sharply for a second consecutive day.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX