US Dollar advances further above 96.00

The greenback, tracked by the US Dollar Index, remains on a firm footing today, testing fresh highs above the 96.00 barrier.

US Dollar boosted by data, sentiment

The index has managed to revert the initial selling bias after US ADP report has shown the private sector added 177K jobs during last month, more than initially estimated albeit lower than July’s 194K (revised from 179K).

In addition, Pending Home Sales have expanded 1.3% inter-month in July, also surpassing estimates. On the other side, the Chicago PMI missed consensus at 51.5 for the current month.

In the meantime, USD keeps its march north unabated so far, always against the backdrop of rising hopes of a Fed’s rate hike in the next month, supported at the same time by auspicious results from the housing sector, inflation figures, ADP and consumer sentiment.

US Dollar relevant levels

The index is up 0.05% at 96.10 with the next hurdle at 96.34 (200-day sma) ahead of 96.50 (high Aug.5) and finally 96.86 (high Jun.27). On the other hand, a breakdown of 95.34 (20-day sma) would aim for 95.17 (100-day sma) and then 94.05 (low Aug.18).