U.S. Dollar Rises Ahead Of U.S. Data, Fed Speeches

The U.S. dollar advanced against its major rivals in early European trading on Thursday, with sentiment underpinned by a rally in oil prices, and investors await weekly jobless claims and a slew of Fed speeches later in the day.

Oil prices rose as a huge wildfire reduced production in Canada's oil sands region and escalating fighting in Libya threatened the North African nation's output.

U.S. treasury yields rose, with the benchmark yield on 2-year note advancing 0.76 percent and that of 10-year equivalent were up by 1.80 percent. Yields move inversely to prices.

The Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims for the week ended April 30 at 8:30 am ET. Economists forecast claims to rise by 261,000, from 257,000 last week.

Investors shift their attention to speeches from FOMC member John Williams, St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart for more indications about monetary policy.

The Labor Department's all-important monthly jobs report on Friday could provide further clues on the state of the economy.

The economy is expected to create 200,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment index is expected to edge down to 4.9 percent.

Strong U.S. trade, services and factory orders reports released overnight overshadowed news from payroll processor ADP that showed private sector jobs growth expanded at a slower pace in April.

The greenback showed mixed performance in Asian deals. While the currency held steady against the euro and the franc, it declined against the pound and the yen.

The greenback advanced to a 6-day high of 0.9606 against the franc and a 3-day high of 1.1450 versus the euro, off its early lows of 0.9569 and 1.1494, respectively. On the upside, the greenback may find resistance around 0.98 against the franc and 1.12 against the euro.

The greenback edged up to 1.4477 against the pound and 107.29 against the yen, from its previous lows of 1.4529 and 106.88, respectively. If the greenback extends gain, it may find resistance around 1.42 against the pound and 1.32 against the yen.

Looking ahead, Canada building permits for March and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended April 30 are slated for release in the New York session.

At 9:15 am ET, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio speaks on "Re-Inventing the Role of Central Banks in Financial Stability", in Ottawa.

The equity markets in Japan remains closed for Golden Week holiday and some parts of Europe is off for Ascension Day holiday.