U.S. Dollar Firms On Strong ADP Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar was higher against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, as the nation's private sector employment rose much more than expected in December, supporting expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve in the future.

Data from the payroll processor ADP showed that private sector employment jumped by 235,000 jobs in December after surging by an upwardly revised 182,000 jobs in November.

Economists had expected employment to jump by about 150,000 jobs compared to the addition of 127,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Investors digested minutes from the Fed's December meeting showing that policymakers supported keeping interest rates higher for longer for some time in the future.

Fed officials cautioned against loosening policy too soon, the minutes indicated, and dashed hopes for rate cuts later this year.

The greenback was up against the euro and the franc, at 1.0547 and 0.9345, respectively. The currency is seen finding resistance around 1.03 against the euro and 0.96 against the franc.

The USD/JPY pair reached a 1-week high of 133.76. The greenback is likely to test resistance around the 135.00 area.

The greenback appreciated against the pound, hitting a 2-day high of 1.1911. The greenback may locate resistance around the 1.16 level.

The greenback rebounded to 1.3548 against the loonie, off its early more than a 4-week low of 1.3470. Against the aussie, it edged up to 0.6766. The next likely resistance for the greenback is seen around 1.37 against the loonie and 0.66 against the aussie.

The greenback gained ground against the kiwi and touched a 2-day high of 0.6230. Should the greenback strengthens further, 0.61 is found as its resistance level.