Investing.com - The dollar held steady at three-month highs against the other major currencies on Thursday, as hopes for a December rate hike in the U.S. continued to support and investors eyed upcoming U.S. data for further indications on the strength of the economy.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.30% at 121.91.
The dollar strengthened broadly after payroll processing firm ADP reported on Wednesday that U.S. non-farm private employment rose by 182,000 last month, above expectations for an increase of 180,000.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that the trade deficit declined to more than expected in September to $40.81 billion from a revised deficit of $48.02 billion the previous month.
Also Wednesday, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager\'s index rose to 59.1 last month from 56.9 in September, well ahead of above forecasts of 56.5.
The greenback was also boosted after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that a December rate hike is a \"live possibility,\" depending on the data.
EUR/USD was steady at 1.0857.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that German factory orders dropped 1.7% in September, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.0%, after a 1.8% decline the previous month.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.5386 and was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF gaining 0.38% to 0.9970.
Later Thursday, the Bank of England was expected to leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.5% and the level of its monthly asset purchases at £375 billion.
The Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD slipping 0.15% to 0.7137, while NZD/USD added 0.17% to 0.6605.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.11% to trade at 1.3165.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.10% at 98.09, the highest level since August 7.