Investing.com - The dollar hit session highs against the yen on Wednesday, and firmed up against the other main currencies, amid optimism that a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling will be reached ahead of Thursday’s deadline to avert a default.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar rose to its highest since September 27 against the yen, with USD/JPY advancing 0.64% to 98.82.
Senate leaders were to resume negotiations on reopening the government and lifting the federal borrowing limit later Wednesday, fuelling hopes that a compromise would be reached.
Ratings agency Fitch placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” on Tuesday, saying the political impasse has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
The U.S. Treasury has said that if an agreement to raise the USD16.7 trillion debt ceiling is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
The euro fell to session lows against the firmer dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.23% to 1.3495.
In the euro zone, data released on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
The dollar was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.38% to 1.5934.
Sterling hit session highs earlier after data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
The Office for National Statistics said that the U.K. claimant count fell by 41,700 in September, outstripping expectations for a decline of 25,000 people.
The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.7% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.
The dollar gained ground against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.35% to 0.9153.
Elsewhere, the greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.08% to 0.9532, NZD/USD rising 0.46% to 0.8418 and USD/CAD down 0.20% to 1.0358.
The New Zealand dollar was boosted after a report showed that consumer price inflation in New Zealand rose 0.9% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% increase, after a 0.2% uptick in the three months to June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.20% to 80.76.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar rose to its highest since September 27 against the yen, with USD/JPY advancing 0.64% to 98.82.
Senate leaders were to resume negotiations on reopening the government and lifting the federal borrowing limit later Wednesday, fuelling hopes that a compromise would be reached.
Ratings agency Fitch placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” on Tuesday, saying the political impasse has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
The U.S. Treasury has said that if an agreement to raise the USD16.7 trillion debt ceiling is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
The euro fell to session lows against the firmer dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.23% to 1.3495.
In the euro zone, data released on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
The dollar was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.38% to 1.5934.
Sterling hit session highs earlier after data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
The Office for National Statistics said that the U.K. claimant count fell by 41,700 in September, outstripping expectations for a decline of 25,000 people.
The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.7% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.
The dollar gained ground against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.35% to 0.9153.
Elsewhere, the greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.08% to 0.9532, NZD/USD rising 0.46% to 0.8418 and USD/CAD down 0.20% to 1.0358.
The New Zealand dollar was boosted after a report showed that consumer price inflation in New Zealand rose 0.9% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% increase, after a 0.2% uptick in the three months to June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.20% to 80.76.