2018.04.2514:55:00UTC+00Dollar Climbing Ahead Of ECB Announcement

The dollar is rising against its major rivals Wednesday afternoon, bouncing back from yesterday's pullback. The recent rise in bond yields has convinced investors that rising inflation may lead the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates faster than previously expected.

There was no U.S. economic data this morning, but traders are looking forward to the release of weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and international trade Thursday morning.

The European Central Bank is also expected to announce its policy decision Thursday, upon the conclusion of its meeting.

The dollar has climbed to nearly a 2-month high of $1.2175 against the Euro Wednesday afternoon, from an early low of $1.2237.

Germany's construction orders grew notably in February, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday. New orders in the main construction industry climbed 9.9 percent month-over-month in February. Orders surged 13.0 percent in February from a year earlier.

France consumer confidence improved unexpectedly in April, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment index rose to 101 in April from 100 in March. The reading was expected to remain unchanged at 100.

The buck has rise to around $1.3935 against the pound sterling this afternoon, from a low of $1.3993 this morning.

The greenback has broken out to over a 2-month high of Y109.345 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early low of Y108.784.

Japan's all industry activity rebounded at a slower-than-expected pace in February, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Wednesday. The all industry activity index rose 0.4 percent month-over-month in February, reversing a 0.1 percent drop in January. That was just below the expected increase of 0.5 percent.