Dollar rises, puts pressure on metals and commodities

The US dollar rose against most of its peers on Wednesday, which put pressure on prices of dollar-denominated commodities and metals, following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's statements and positive economic data.

This came amid lingering uncertainty about the future steps by central banks around the world, led by the US Federal Reserve, as economies need every support they can get to face coronavirus.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Congress should provide extra fiscal funding to firms most hit by the coronavirus impact.

Data showed today the US services PMI fell to 54.6 points in September, but came slightly higher than forecasts of 54.5, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 53.5 points in September vs. 53.1 in August.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.3% to 94.2 points as of 19:23 GMT, after it hit a high of 94.2 and a low of 93.9.