U.S. Dollar Rises On Fed Rate Hike Talks, Risk Aversion

The U.S. dollar strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, after several Fed officials hinted at June rate hike, and as Asian stocks fell amid renewed worries about global economic growth.

Fed officials on Tuesday hinted about considering U.S. interest rate hike at next month's Fed meeting.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said a rate hike at the next Federal Reserve policy meeting is "a real option" as long as the economy, inflation and jobs show improvement. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and San Francisco Fed President John Williams also supported U.S. rate hike policy.

Crude oil dropped further from recent yearly highs amid speculation the rally was overdone. The global supply glut shows no sign of abating, while U.S. crude oil inventories remain near record highs.

OPEC nations and Russia are expected to keep pumping vast amounts of oil in order to preserve market share, putting a cap on oil's advance.

Tuesday, the U.S. dollar fell 0.69 percent against the euro, 0.49 percent against the pound, 0.03 percent against the Swiss franc and 0.12 percent against the yen.

In the Asian trading, the U.S. dollar rose to a 1-week high of 1.4520 against the pound and a 5-day high of 107.44 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.4534 and 106.55, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.43 against the pound and 111.50 against the yen.

Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the greenback advanced to 2-day highs of 1.1477 and 0.9569 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.1496 and 0.9541, respectively. The greenback may test resistance near 1.13 against the euro and 0.98 against the franc.

Against the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the greenback climbed to nearly a 2-month high of 0.7467, 6-day high of 0.6876 and nearly a 2-week high of 1.2749 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7484, 0.6913 and 1.2723, respectively. The greenback is likely to find resistance around 0.73 against the aussie, 0.67 against the kiwi and 1.30 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, PMI reports from major European economies for April and Eurozone retail sales for March are due to be released later in the day.

At 6:15 am ET, Germany's Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann is expected to speak at annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Frankfurt.

In the New York session, U.S. ADP private sector employment data for April, ISM non-manufacturing PMI data for April, U.S and Canada trade data for March, U.S. factory orders and durable goods orders for March and U.S. crude oil inventories data are slated for release.