U.S. Dollar Rises After Fed's Yellen Comments

The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, following the upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that she expects rates to rise a few times a year until end of 2019. Speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, California, Yellen said that she cannot project the specific timing of another rate hike, while the Fed is close to its dual mandate of full employment and price stability.

The Fed hiked interest rates in December for only the second time in a decade. While some Fed members have predicted three interest rate hikes in 2017, others say the central bank should hike rates more gradually.

Wednesday, the U.S. dollar showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the U.S. dollar rose against the yen, it held steady against the euro, the pound, and the Swiss franc.

In the Asian trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 2-day highs of 1.0622 against the euro, 1.2253 against the pound and 1.0083 against the franc, from early lows of 1.0645, 1.2290 and 1.0063, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.04 against the euro, 1.19 against the pound and 1.02 against the franc.

Against the Australian and the New Zealand dollars, the greenback advanced to 2-day highs of 0.7493 and 0.7117 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7505 and 0.7125, respectively. The greenback is likely to find resistance around 0.73 against the aussie and 0.69 against the kiwi.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the greenback climbed to a 6-day high of 114.89 and an 8-day high of 1.3272 from yesterday's closing quotes of 114.66 and 1.3269, respectively. On the upside, 118.00 against the greenback and 1.35 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.

Looking ahead, Swiss PPI for December and Eurozone current account data for November are slated for release later in the day.

The European Central bank will announce its interest rate decision at 7:45 am ET. The economists expect the central bank's deposit rate and refinancing rate to remain stable at -0.4 percent and 0 Percent, respectively.

Following the announcement, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will hold the customary post-meeting press conference at 8:30 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. building permits and housing starts for December, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended January 14, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia manufacturing index for January, U.S. crude oil inventories data and Canada manufacturing sales data for November are set to be published.

At 3:45 pm ET, San Francisco Fed President John Williams is expected to speak before the Solano Economic Development Corporation Annual Luncheon Meeting, Fairfield, United States.