NEW YORK: The US dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday on expectations that Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes will support a trend of higher U.S. yields, while the euro held within recent ranges on optimism over Greece.
Analysts said minutes from the January Fed meeting, due at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), will likely support the view that the central bank will raise rates by mid-year. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields hit 1-1/2-month highs on Wednesday of 2.16 percent.
"There's a little bit more confidence with being long dollars because U.S. yields are rising again," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. "Markets are now leaning towards a tone from the Fed that would be dollar supportive."
Rising U.S. yields support the dollar by driving investment flows into the United States.
While the dollar gained against the euro, the share currency remained above Tuesday's low of $1.13220, with analysts citing optimism that Greece would reach a debt deal with its international lenders.
The Greek government confirmed it would ask for an extension of its loan agreement on Wednesday.
"It's growing increasingly likely that Europe will cave to some of the demands that Greece is putting forward," said Douglas Borthwick, managing director at Chapdelaine Foreign Exchange in New York.
He said it would be in Germany's interest to keep Greece in the euro zone, despite its weak economy, since its membership eases deflation in Europe by keeping the euro from strengthening too much.
The dollar and the euro hit their highest levels against the Swiss franc since the Swiss National Bank scrapped its 1.20 francs per euro cap on Jan. 15. Analysts cited persistent speculation that the SNB was intervening to weaken the franc.
"There's certainly a fear in the market of being long the Swiss franc now because the SNB could weaken it," Borthwick said.
The dollar was last flat against the yen, however, at 119.225 yen. Analysts cited the Bank of Japan's confirmation that it saw no need to print more money to stimulate its economy.
The euro was last down 0.46 percent against the dollar at $1.13575. The dollar was last up 0.68 percent against the franc at 0.9432 franc. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.36 percent at 94.401.
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