Investing.com - The dollar moved slightly higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, helped by fresh hopes of a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year and as investors awaited a string of U.S. data due later in the day, including a report on second quarter growth.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank does not have a "fixed timetable" for modifying its monetary policy.
But the greenback found support as Yellen added that continued job creation at its current pace would cause the economy to overheat and, in that case, the Fed could be forced to raise rates faster than expected.
EUR/USD held steady at 1.1220.
Sentiment on the euro was fragile, as official data on Thursday showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany rose by 1,000 this month, disappointing expectations for a 5,000 drop.
The number of unemployed people declined by 6,000 in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 7,000 slide.
USD/JPY gained 0.80% to trade at 101.49, the highest since September 21.
Demand for the safe-haven yen weakened after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it agreed to reduce output to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day, a reduction of 0.7-2.2% from OPEC estimates of its current output at 33.24 million bpd.
It was the first such deal since 2008.
However, the enthousiasm sparked by the deal was short-lived due to skepticism among analysts regarding the limited details of the agreement.
The Japanese currency was also under pressure after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda earlier said that the central bank will pursue the most appropriate yield curve to achieve its 2% inflation target.
He added that the BoJ is ready to ease policy further by cutting its short and long-term interest rate targets or by expanding asset purchases.
The pound edged lower, with GBP/USD down 0.25% to 1.2986, while USD/CHF was little changed at 0.9708.
Markets shrugged off a report by the Bank of England on Thursday showing that net lending to individuals rose by £4.5 billion in August, compared to expectations for a £4.0 billion increase and after a £3.8 billion gain the previous month.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.33% at 0.7666, after hitting a three-week high of 0.7711 overnight, and with NZD/USD slipping 0.18% to 0.7270.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD edged up 0.15% to trade at 1.3101, off four-day lows of 1.3049 reached earlier.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.16% at 95.46, re-approaching the previous session’s one-week high of 95.66.