U.S. Dollar Rises As Asian Markets Traded Lower

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, as Asian stock markets traded lower in thin holiday trading, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as most of the markets are closed for a Labor Day holiday. Treasury yields jumped on stronger-than-expected U.S. wage data. Traders also remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Fed's monetary policy decision later in the day.

Losses across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices, also led to the downturn of investor sentiment.

Crude oil prices drifted lower, weighed down by a stronger dollar, rising crude production in the U.S. and concerns about economic growth and the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.70 at $81.93 a barrel.

In the Asian trading now, the U.S. dollar rose to an 8-day high of 1.0654 against the euro and nearly a 7-month high of 0.9217 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0665 and 0.9193, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.05 against the euro and 0.93 against the franc.

Against the pound and the yen, the greenback advanced to a 5-day high of 1.2472 and a 2-day high of 157.93 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.2490 and 157.80, respectively. The greenback may test resistance near 1.23 against the pound and 161.00 against the yen.

Against the Australia and the New Zealand dollars, the greenback climbed to an 8-day high of 0.6465 and nearly a 2-week high of 0.5877 from Tuesday's closing quotes of 0.6472 and 0.5886, respectively. The next possible upside target of the greenback is seen around 0.63 against the aussie and 0.57 against the kiwi.

The greenback edges up to 1.3783 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 1.3777. On the upside, 1.39 is seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.

Looking ahead, U.S. MBA mortgage approvals data, Canada and U.S. PMI data for April, U.S. construction spending for March and U.S. EIA crude oil data are slated for release in the New York session.

At 2:00 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is set to end its two-day policy meeting today. The central bank is expected to leave the Fed funds target rate in the 5.25 per cent to 5.50 percent range.