The dollar rose against most major currencies during trading on Wednesday, following the release of economic data, in addition to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, which attracted demand for the US currency as a safe haven in the face of crises.
Markets were holding their breath yesterday as the Israeli military officially announced that Iran had launched an attack with about 200 missiles on various Israeli areas. Videos were circulated of the missiles penetrating Israeli air defense systems, falling and exploding, but Tel Aviv confirmed that there were no significant losses other than some minor injuries, and threatened to respond.
Government data released today by ADP revealed that the US private sector added 143,000 jobs in September, after adding 103,000 in August, compared to expectations of adding 128,000 jobs.
This comes ahead of the release of the more comprehensive monthly jobs report to determine monetary policy trends and the impact of the data on the Fed's decision at its next meeting in November, especially amid concerns about the dockworkers' strike.
Meanwhile, FedWatch data indicates that investors see a 36% chance of a 50 basis point cut at the next meeting, compared with a 57% chance a week ago, while the chance of a 25 basis point cut has increased to 64% from 43%.
In terms of trading, the dollar index rose by 0.4% to 101.5 points by 17:19 GMT, recording a high of 101.6 points and a low of 101.1 points.
Canadian Dollar
The Canadian dollar was steady against its US counterpart at 0.7409 by 17:34 GMT.
Australian Dollar
The Australian dollar was steady against its US counterpart at 0.6881 by 17:34 GMT.
