Investing.com - The dollar traded largely higher against most major currencies on Wednesday as investors continued to take up positions betting that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner in 2015 than once anticipated.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.27% at 1.2904.
In a session void of major economic indicators, the dollar found support on expectations that U.S. retail sales and consumer-sentiment reports will come in solid this Friday, while the Federal Reserve will conclude a two-day policy meeting next week winding down asset purchases and moving closer to hiking benchmark interest rates.
A Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco report published on Monday suggested rate hikes may come sooner than markets may be expecting.
The Fed is widely seen cutting its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion to $15 billion at its Sept. 16-17 meeting before possibly closing it in October.
Many market participants are hoping the U.S. central bank's statement on monetary policy next week will hint at when rates may rise.
Despite disappointments here and there, U.S. economic indicators collectively point to a recovery that is gaining steam.
The euro, meanwhile, continued to come under pressure in wake of a European Central Bank decision to trim interest rates and roll out an asset-backed securities purchasing program.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.63% at 106.86, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.54% at 0.9378.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.54% at 1.6193.
The pound has come under heavy selling pressure after a weekend YouGov/Sunday Times found that 51% in Scotland favored voting for independence from the U.K. in a referendum set to take place on Sept. 18.
Another poll is due out Wednesday evening, though bottom fishers snapped up nicely-priced positions ahead of time in a session void of major economic indicators on both sides of the Atlantic.
Elsewhere, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said earlier that the point at which interest rates will need to rise has moved closer.
Speaking in front of Parliament’s Treasury committee Carney also said the BoE has a contingency plan to support financial stability in the U.K. if Scotland votes for independence, which added to Wednesday's gains.
The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.32% at 1.0945, AUD/USD down 0.50% at 0.9158 and NZD/USD down 0.17% at 0.8232.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.21% at 84.44.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to produce its weekly report on initial jobless claims.