U.S. dollar rises on upbeat data

The U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies on Thursday as economic data from the country came out positive.

Despite ongoing inventory shortages and faster price growth, existing-home sales sustained their recent momentum and moved higher for the second consecutive month, reported the National Association of Realtors Friday.

U.S. total existing-home sales rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March.

The upbeat data further bolstered market expectation for an interest-rate hike as early as June.

According to the minutes of the Fed's April meeting released Wednesday, officials are open to an interest rate hike as early as June, if the economy continues to improve.

"Most participants judged that if incoming data were consistent with economic growth picking up in the second quarter, labor market conditions continuing to strengthen, and inflation making progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective, then it likely would be appropriate for the (Federal Open Market) Committee to increase the target range for the federal funds rate in June," said the minutes.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1219 dollars from 1.1200 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.4506 dollars from 1.4619 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7225 dollars from 0.7224 dollars.

The dollar bought 110.23 Japanese yen, higher than 109.92 yen of the previous session. The dollar climbed to 0.9908 Swiss francs from 0.9902 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.3129 Canadian dollars from 1.3087 Canadian dollars. Endit