U.S. Dollar Rebounds After Hawkish Fed Comments, Data

The U.S. dollar staged a rebound on Thursday after days of weakness, with the sentiment boosted by a hawkish comment from Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In a speech to members of the Economic Club of Minnesota, Mester said the Fed needs to keep raising interest rates this year if economic conditions continue on their current pace. Earlier, the dollar got a small boost from better-than-expected reports on jobless claims and manufacturing index from the Philly Fed. The ICE U.S. Dollar index was up 0.4% at 97.969. The index erased nearly all of its postelection gains, after falling to its lowest levels in six month on Wednesday. In mid-afternoon trade, euro was trading at $1.1093, down 0.6% from $1.1159. The dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen with the dollar buying �111.50, up 0.6% from �110.82. The dollar was also stronger across the board against emerging-market currencies.