The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies this morning as investors consolidated positions after a recent rise, with minutes from the European Central Bank’s latest meeting likely to be the key event of the day.
Despite a raft of dollar positive news in recent days ranging from positive economic data to potential U.S. tax reforms, the greenback has gained less than 3 percent over the last month against a broad basket of currencies.
This week’s data showed U.S. service sector growth hit its fastest in 12 years in September and private employers added more jobs than forecast despite hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
The ECB signaled at the meeting that while it could announce a plan this month for a gradual exit from its very easy monetary policy, it was in no hurry to end it.
The euro zone’s central bank also mentioned the potentially negative aspects of a strong euro at the September policy meeting, so markets will look closely at the minutes to gauge what was discussed about the currency.