Investing.com - The dollar gained in Asia on Wednesday as U.S.President Donald Trump gave a strong law-and-order speech to the U.S. Congress that included a crackdown on illegal immigration and repeated call for wall on the border with Mexico, while calling for a vast overhaul of the nation's tax system and increased spending on infrastructure and defense.
The Trump laundry list also included a call for lower drug prices and an unspecified new healthcare coverage plan.
Investors noted upbeat manufacturing figures from China that set the stage for global growth hopes.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.14% to 100.47. USD/JPY changed hands at 113.20, up 0.40%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7665, up 0.12%.
Overnight, the dollar traded lower against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday, following a mixed batch of U.S. economic data and ahead of Trump’s speech to Congress.
The dollar added to losses sustained during early morning trade, after a raft of economic data failed to stop the decline in the greenback as second Q4'16 US GDP missed analysts’ expectations while February US consumer confidence was better than expected.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a 1.9% annual rate in the final three months of 2016, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday in its second estimate for the period. Analysts expected a 2.1% annual rate increase.
The Consumer Confidence Index, which measures consumers’ assessment of current conditions in the U.S., hit 114.8 in February, according to data from The Conference Board. Economist expected the Consumer Confidence index to hit 111 in February.
Momentum in the greenback has waned during the latter half of February, amid a lack of specific policy details on fiscal expansion including tax reform, which are viewed as inflationary and a platform for further dollar upside.