Investing.com – The U.S. dollar extended gains against most of its major counterparts on Wednesday, after data showed the U.S. private sector added significantly more jobs than expected in December.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD plunging 1.25% to hit 1.314.
Earlier in the day, fresh concerns over Europe’s sovereign debt surfaced, following reports that the Swiss National Bank excluded Irish government bonds from being used as eligible collateral and after the yield on Portuguese Treasury bills rose sharply.
The greenback was also up against the pound with GBP/USD shedding 0.63% to hit 1.5486. Earlier Wednesday, data showed that the U.K. construction sector contracted more-than-expected in December.
Meanwhile, the greenback was sharply higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY jumping 1.38% to hit 83.16 and USD/CHF leaping 1.62% to hit 0.9644.
The greenback was also up against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with AUD/USD tumbling 0.86% to hit 0.9963 and NZD/USD plummeting 0.85% to hit 0.7598.
But the greenback was down against its Canadian cousin; with USD/CAD slipping 0.06% to hit 0.9974 after official data showed that Canadian producer prices rose more-than-expected in November.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, advanced 1.1%.
Earlier Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 297K in December, more than the forecast 100K rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data from the Institute of Supply Management on service sector activity.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD plunging 1.25% to hit 1.314.
Earlier in the day, fresh concerns over Europe’s sovereign debt surfaced, following reports that the Swiss National Bank excluded Irish government bonds from being used as eligible collateral and after the yield on Portuguese Treasury bills rose sharply.
The greenback was also up against the pound with GBP/USD shedding 0.63% to hit 1.5486. Earlier Wednesday, data showed that the U.K. construction sector contracted more-than-expected in December.
Meanwhile, the greenback was sharply higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY jumping 1.38% to hit 83.16 and USD/CHF leaping 1.62% to hit 0.9644.
The greenback was also up against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with AUD/USD tumbling 0.86% to hit 0.9963 and NZD/USD plummeting 0.85% to hit 0.7598.
But the greenback was down against its Canadian cousin; with USD/CAD slipping 0.06% to hit 0.9974 after official data showed that Canadian producer prices rose more-than-expected in November.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, advanced 1.1%.
Earlier Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 297K in December, more than the forecast 100K rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data from the Institute of Supply Management on service sector activity.