Investing.com - The dollar traded largely higher against most major currencies on Wednesday as market sentiments persisted that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates sooner rather than later due to an improving U.S. economy.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.13% at 1.3529.
U.S. Treasury yields continued to climb on Wednesday, though they came off earlier highs, as markets prepped for the possibility that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates sooner than once expected.
Fed officials have said rate hikes will come sometime after the U.S. central bank concludes its bond-buying program, which is seen taking place this year.
However, uncertainty as to how much time will elapse between the end of Fed stimulus programs and a decision to raise benchmark interest rates boosted the dollar over the euro, as many feel the economy continues to shake off the dust from rough winter weather and pick up its pace of recovery, which could prompt the U.S. central bank to act.
The euro, meanwhile, continued to slide on the European Central Bank's policy move announced last week.
The ECB cut all its main rates to record lows on Thursday and for the first time imposed negative deposit rates on commercial lenders.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.33% trading at 102.02 and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.08% at 0.8999.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.20% at 1.6790.
In the U.K., the claimant count, or number of people receiving jobless benefits fell by 27,400 in May, beating for a for a decline of 25,000 people. April’s figure was revised to a drop of 28,400 from 25,100.
The data added to the view that the Bank of England will raise interest rates ahead of other central banks as the economic recovery continues to gather momentum, which gave the pound an edge over the greenback.
The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.31% at 1.0869, AUD/USD up 0.09% at 0.9381 and NZD/USD up 0.26% at 0.8550.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was little changed at 80.81.