Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pushed higher against other major counterparts on Wednesday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. data due later in the day and amid mounting speculation over the next head of the Federal Reserve.
The greenback remained supported following reports on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump was favoring Stanford economist John Taylor to replace Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen next year. Taylor is seen as more hawkish than current Yellen.
Trump is expected to meet with Yellen later in the week as part of his search for a new candidate for her position.
Market participants are also keeping an eye on current Fed Governor Jerome Powell and former Fed official Kevin Warsh as potential candidates to succeed Yellen when her term ends in February.
Investors were looking ahead to U.S. building permits and housing starts data, set to be released later in the day.
EUR/USD slid 0.29% to 1.1731, while GBP/USD declined 0.36% to trade at 1.3143 after data showed that the UK jobless rate held steady in August, while wage inflation rose more than expected.
The pound came under pressure after the Bank of England’s new deputy governor indicated on Tuesday that he did not support the view that interest rates probably need to rise soon, while another official said her support for a rate hike was "very contingent on the data".
The yen was and the Swiss franc were lower, with USD/JPY up 0.46% at 112.72 and with USD/CHF gaining 0.30% to 0.9812.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.31% at 0.7821 and with NZD/USD declining 0.68% to trade at 0.7122.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was steady, with USD/CAD at 1.2528.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.30% at 93.64 by 05:15 a.m. ET (09:15 GMT), its highest since October 9.