WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar firmed against most of its major counterparts on Thursday, lifted by encouraging data on the jobs front, and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell, who testified before the Senate Banking Committee today, said that the central bank would be 'prepared to move more aggressively' with regard to interest rates if inflation does not abate as fast as expected.
Earlier, during his testimony before the Congress on Wednesday, Powell said he would support a 25-basis point hike at the central bank's meeting next week.
A report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims dipped to 215,000 in the week ended February 26th, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level of 233,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 225,000 from the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Data on non-farm payrolls data is due on Friday. Economists currently expect employment to jump by 400,000 jobs in February after surging by 467,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.9 percent from 4.0 percent.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management said its services PMI fell to 56.5 in February from 59.9 in January. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 61.0.
The services PMI decreased for the third straight month after reaching a record high of 68.4 in November of 2021.
The dollar index, which climbed to 97.95 a little past noon, pared some gains subsequently and is hovering around 97.75, up nearly 0.4% from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1066, gaining from $1.1121. The eurozone private sector activity rebounded at the fastest pace since last September, following January's slowdown, final survey results from IHS Markit showed.
The composite output index rose to 55.5 in February from 52.3 in the previous month. The flash reading was 55.8. The services Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 55.5, up from 51.1 a month ago. The reading was revised from 55.8.
The dollar is trading at $1.3345 against Pound Sterling, firming from $1.3408. The UK service sector growth accelerated sharply in February as the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, final survey results from IHS Markit showed.
The dollar is trading at 115.46 yen, down slightly from Wednesday's close of 115.52. Japan's consumer confidence weakened in February, data from the Cabinet Office showed on Thursday. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the consumer confidence index fell to 35.3 in February from 36.7 in January. Economists had expected a score of 35.0.
Against the Aussie, the dollar is at 0.7327, easing from 0.7297. Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$12.891 billion in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said - beating expectations for a surplus of A$9.05 billion and up from A$8.356 billion in December.
The Swiss franc is trading at CHF 0.9185 against the dollar, gaining from CHF 0.9204. Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Swiss consumer prices grew the most since 2008, rising 2.2% in February, following a 1.6% increase in January. Economists had forecast a rise of 1.8%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices grew 0.7% in February, following a 0.2% rise in the previous month.
The Loonie is at 1.2680 a dollar, dropping from 1.2633.
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