US dollar gains amid upbeat data

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New York, The US dollar strengthened on Wednesday as market participants continued to pore through a slew of key data.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.19 per cent at 97.4012 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro was down to $1.1115 from $1.1148 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to $1.3083 from $1.3119 in the previous session, Xinhua reported.

The Australian dollar rose to $0.6850 from $0.6849.

The US dollar bought 109.58 Japanese yen, higher than 109.47 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.9802 Swiss franc from 0.9801 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.3110 Canadian dollars from 1.3165 Canadian dollars.

On the data front, US private-owned housing starts in November rose 3.2 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.365 million units, according to the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday.

The number of job openings climbed to 7.3 million on the last business day of October, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday.