The dollar rallied against the euro and the yen on Wednesday after two reports on the US economy came in better than expected.

Investors cheered data showing the US economy added more jobs than expected last month. ADP non-farm payrolls increased by 162,000 following a revised 189,000 advance in August. Forecasts were for an increase of 140,000.

In a separate report the US ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose from 53.7 to 55.1 better than predictions of 53.4.

The data helped to boost the dollar to a two-week high against the yen and lifted it against sterling and the Australian dollar.

The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, climbed to 79.968 from 79.734 late Tuesday.

Meanwhile the euro briefly dipped below $1.29 on Wednesday after Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy reiterated that his country was not getting ready to ask for a bailout. The single currency later traded at $1.2902 from $1.2922 on Tuesday.

Against the yen the greenback advanced to ¥78.55 from ¥78.12 the previous session as investors in Tokyo positioned themselves ahead of Japan's central bank meeting.

Sterling fell to $1.6074 from $1.6146 on Tuesday after reports showed weak Britain's service sector growth in September just a day after a weak construction sector report.

The Australian dollar slipped to $1.0220 following the robust US data and after a report showed Australia saw its widest trade deficit in 3-1/2 years.


CJ

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