U.S. Dollar Advances Following Hawkish Fed Minutes

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar climbed against its most major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday, as minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent meeting failed to give any signals on potential cuts.

The minutes showed that officials continued to judge that restrictive monetary policy stance would be required to return inflation to the 2 percent target over time.

Market participants expect the Fed to hold rates at the December meeting and deliver a first rate cut in May.

In economic releases, U.S. reports on durable goods orders and weekly jobless claims are due later in the day.

Economists expect initial jobless claims to decline to 225,000 from 231,000 in the week ended November 18.

The greenback climbed to 0.6015 against the kiwi and 0.6527 against the aussie, setting 2-day highs. The greenback is seen finding resistance around 0.58 against the kiwi and 0.64 against the aussie.

The greenback advanced to a 5-day high of 1.0882 against the euro and a 2-day high of 0.8862 against the franc, off its early lows of 1.0922 and 0.8828, respectively. The next possible resistance for the currency is seen around 1.07 against the euro and 0.90 against the franc.

The greenback moved up to 1.2506 against the pound. Against the loonie, it was up at 1.3728. The greenback is likely to find resistance around 1.24 against the pound and 1.40 against the loonie.

In contrast, the greenback eased to 148.65 against the yen, from an early 2-day high of 149.35. The greenback may locate support around the 133.00 mark.

Looking ahead, U.S. durable goods orders for October, weekly jobless claims for the week ended November 18 and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for November will be released in the New York session.

Eurozone flash consumer sentiment index for November will be out at 10 am ET.