• The dollar ticked higher on Wednesday as a handful of Federal Reserve policymakers boosted expectations for a March U.S. interest rate increase, just hours ahead of long-awaited speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The greenback rose 0.3 percent to 113.16 yen while the euro dropped 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.0565.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major peers was last up 0.1 percent at101.48.
• New York Fed President William Dudley, among the most influential U.S. central bankers, said that the case for tightening monetary policy "has become a lot more compelling".
• John Williams, President of the San Francisco Fed, said that a rate increase is very much on the table for serious consideration at March meeting given the economy at full employment and accelerating inflation.
• Money market futures are now pricing in about a 70 percent chance of a rate hike in March, compared to about a 30 percent or less at the start of week.
• Gross domestic product rose at a 1.9 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate, as downward revisions to business and government investment offset robust consumer spending.
The estimate matched what was published last month. Output increased at a 3.5 percent rate in the third quarter.
The economy grew 1.6 percent for all of 2016, its worstperformance since 2011, after expanding 2.6 percent in2015.
• The White House and Congress lacked agreement on a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare on Tuesday amid signs of growing Republican division on the issue, as President Donald Trump prepared to address lawmakers about his 2017 agenda.
• Oil prices slipped on Tuesday but kept trading in a tight range, as concerns about rising U.S. crude inventories ahead of data overshadowed OPEC production cuts.
• U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down 4 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $54.01 a barrel and Brent crude fell 34 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $55.59 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters
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