Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against other major currencies on Thursday, as growing expectations for a March rate hike by the Federal Reserve continued to boost demand for the greenback.
The greenback was underpinned after a number of Federal Reserve officials this week expressed their support for a March rate hike.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Wednesday that an improving global economy and a solid U.S. recovery mean it will be "appropriate soon" for the central bank to hike rates.
EUR/USD slipped 0.15% to 1.0531.
Eurostat reported on Thursday that the consumer price index rose 2.0% in February, in line with expectations and following a final reading of a 1.8% rise the previous month.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD fell 0.21% to a six-week low of 1.2268 after research group Markit said its U.K. construction purchasing managers' index ticked up to 52.5 in February from January’s 52.2, compared to economists’ forecasts for an unchanged reading.
USD/JPY advanced 0.45% to 114.24, the highest since February 16, while USD/CHF added 0.18% to 1.0108.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.74% at 0.7618 and with NZD/USD dropping 0.60% to 0.7101.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that building approvals increased by 1.8% in January, compared to expectations for a 0.4% fall.
A separate report showed that Australia’s trade surplus narrowed to A$1.302 billion in January from a revised A$3.334 billion in December. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to widen to A$3.800 billion in January.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.32% to trade at a five-week high of 1.3369.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.24% at a seven-week high of 101.98.