Investing.com - The dollar pushed higher against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday, after upbeat U.S. jobs data and as investors remained cautious despite news Greece is ready to accept most conditions from its international creditors in order to reach a deal over its debt crisis.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported on Wednesday that U.S. non-farm private employment rose by 237,000 last month, above expectations for an increase of 218,000.
The economy created 203,000 jobs in May, whose figure was upwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 201,000.
EUR/USD dropped 0.50% to 1.1086 even after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent new proposals as part of a request for a third bailout, indicating that he was prepared to accept the majority of spending cuts demanded by the country’s creditors.
But German chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday there will be no negotiations on a new bailout for Greece before Sunday’s referendum.
On Wednesday Greece became the first developed country to default on the International Monetary Fund after its second bailout program expired late Tuesday. The IMF confirmed that the Greek government failed to make a scheduled €1.6 billion loan repayment.
The fund said Greece can now only receive further funding after its arrears are cleared. Greece asked for a last-minute repayment extension on Tuesday, which the fund said it will consider "in due course."
Speculation was mounting that Prime Minister Tsipras would cancel a snap referendum due to be held on July 5 on whether to accept the terms proposed by lenders for extending the country’s bailout.
Earlier Wednesday, research group Markit said that Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index remained unchanged at 51.9 last month, in line with expectations.
France's manufacturing PMI ticked up to 50.7 in June from 50.5 the previous month, confounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
The pound was also lower, with GBP/USD down 0.43% to 1.5641.
Markit earlier reported the U.K. manufacturing PMI fell to a 26-month low of 51.4 last month from 51.9 in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated reading of 52.0.
Analysts had expected the index to rise to 52.5 in June.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY up 0.51% to 123.13 and with USD/CHF gaining 0.72% to 0.9433.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.48% to 0.7665 and with NZD/USD slipping 0.17% to 0.6756, re-approaching Tuesday's five-year lows of 0.6744.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.39% to trade at 1.2539.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.49% at 96.22.