Investing.com - The dollar continued to hover at an 11-month high against the other majors currencies on Wednesday, as optimism over the U.S. economy following Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president and hopes for a U.S. rate hike lent broad support to the greenback.
EUR/USD slipped 0.12% to 1.0711, just off an 11-month trough of 1.0701 hit overnight.
The greenback was boosted after upbeat U.S. data on Tuesday fuelled further optimism over the strength of the economy, adding to expectations for a rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting.
The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.8% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.6% increase, while core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, increased by 0.8%.
The dollar also remained broadly supported amid hopes that increased fiscal spending and tax cuts under a Trump administration will bolster economic growth and inflation.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD held steady at 1.2461 after the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that the claimant count rose by 9,800 in October, compared to expectations for an increase of 2,000.
However, the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell from 4.9% to an 11-year low of 4.8% in the three months to September, confounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
Meanwhile, the U.K. average earnings index rose 2.3% in the three months to September, compared to forecasts for a 2.3% advance. Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.4%.
USD/JPY gained 0.33% to 109.56, the highest since June 2, while USD/CHF added 0.13% to 1.0031.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.57% at 0.7517 and with NZD/USD slipping 0.18% to 0.7085.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.19% to trade at 1.3472.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.13% at 100.33, the highest since December 2015.
If the index rises above the highs of 100.51 set in December 2015, it would reach its highest level since April 2003.