US dollar rises on upbeat services data

The US dollar rallied against other major currencies Wednesday as data showed the country's services sector grew stronger than expected.

The U.S. non-manufacturing index registered 55.7 in April, an increase of 1.2 from March's reading of 54.5, according to the Institute for Supply Management Wednesday. The latest reading was higher than the market consensus of 54.7.

Analysts said the upbeat services data eased some worries about the economy's domestic expansion in the second quarter.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.25 percent at 93.176 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1502 U.S. dollars from 1.1514 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound dropped to 1.4499 U.S. dollars from 1.4542 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7458 U.S. dollar from 0.7487 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 106.93 Japanese yen, higher than 106.40 yen of the previous session. The dollar climbed to 0.9563 Swiss franc from 0.9533 Swiss franc and inched up to 1.2862 Canadian dollars from 1.2724 Canadian dollars.