Forex Today: US progress boosts the greenback

What you need to know on Wednesday, May 5:

 The American dollar was the overall winner this Tuesday, advancing against most of its major rivals. The greenback got boosted by local data suggesting continued economic improvement, but also by comments from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said that  “interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that our economy doesn't overheat.” Yellen will participate in another event early in the upcoming Asian session, and her words my spur additional dollar gains. EUR/USD ended the day just above the 1.2000 level.

Brexit returns to the spotlight. The pound remained subdued and closed the day sub-1.3900 against the greenback. The French government rejected Britain’s latest regulation for fishing in its waters near the Channel Islands.  French fishermen have complained that they are being prevented from operating in British waters because of difficulties in obtaining licenses, a Brexit-related issue that has escalated in the last few weeks.

Commodity-linked currencies eased against the greenback, although the Canadian dollar’s decline was limited, as oil prices soared. WTI settled at $ 65.70 a barrel, back by resurgent demand. Gold, on the other hand, flirted with 1,800 before turning sharply lower and finished the day at $ 1,778.90 a troy ounce.

European and US indexes closed mostly in the red after a strong start to the day. Yellen comments weighed. US Treasury yields eased, with that on the 10-year note down to 1.59%.

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