The U.S. dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday, as the U.S. economy grew stronger than previously estimated in the third quarter, while the Fed Chair Janet Yellen gave an optimistic assessment of the economy and hinted at a gradual normalization of policy.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that the real gross domestic product surged up by an upwardly revised 3.3 percent in the third quarter compared to the originally reported 3.0 percent jump. Economists had expected the increase in GDP to be upwardly revised to 3.2 percent.

With the bigger than expected upward revision, the GDP growth in the third quarter is now stronger than the 3.1 percent increase seen in the second quarter.

In prepared testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, the Fed Chief said that the U.S. economy has strengthened further this year and she expects the Fed to continue raising interest rates gradually.

"The economic expansion is increasingly broad based across sectors as well as across much of the global economy," she said.

Yellen's hearing will begin at 10 am ET.

On Tuesday, the Senate Budget Committee passed the lawmakers' tax plan in a 12-11 vote that was executed along party lines.

The full Senate could vote on the bill as early as Thursday, although the legislation still includes significant differences from the House version.

The greenback showed mixed performance in the Asian session. While it fell against the euro and the pound, it held steady against the franc. Against the yen, the currency rose.

The greenback advanced to a weekly high of 112.06 against the Japanese yen, from a low of 111.38 hit at 10:15 pm ET. If the greenback rises further, 113.00 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's retail sales were roughly flat on a seasonally adjusted basis in October.

That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent and was down from 0.8 percent in September.

The greenback reversed from an early low of 0.9819 against the franc, rising to a 1-week high of 0.9868. The greenback is seen finding resistance around the 1.01 area.

Data from the UBS investment bank showed that Switzerland's consumption indicator remained broadly unchanged in October but suggested that private spending is growing at a solid pace in the fourth quarter.

The indicator inched up to 1.54 points in October from revised 1.51 in September.

Following a decline to 1.1883 against the euro at 4:00 am ET, the greenback reversed direction and firmed to a 6-day high of 1.1817. Continuation of the greenback's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 1.17 area.

Survey data from the European Commission showed that Eurozone economic confidence continued to improve in November.

The economic confidence index improved to 114.6 from 114.1 in the previous month. The score came in line with expectations.

Having fallen to a 2-month low of 1.3431 against the pound at 3:05 am ET, the greenback reversed direction with the pair trading at 1.3389. Further uptrend may take the greenback to a resistance around the 1.32 mark.

Data from the Bank of England showed that UK mortgage approvals declined to a 13-month low in October.

The number of mortgages approved in October fell to 64,575 from 66,111 in September. The number was forecast to drop to 65,000. This was the lowest since September 2016, when it totaled 64,144.

The greenback climbed to a 2-day high of 0.6884 against the kiwi, near 4-week high of 1.2859 against the loonie and a weekly high of 0.7555 against the aussie, from its early lows of 0.6929, 1.2805 and 0.7608, respectively. On the upside, 0.66, 1.30 and 0.73 are likely seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback against the kiwi, loonie and the aussie, respectively.

U.S. pending home sales for October and Fed Beige book report are due shortly.

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