The U.S. dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Wednesday, as expectations for higher inflation and rates improved amid the buzz that U.S. President Donald Trump is leaning toward nominating Stanford University economist John Taylor to head the Federal Reserve.

Taylor is perceived as more hawkish than current chair Janet Yellen.

Investors lifted bets for a rate hike in December after reports that Taylor is under consideration for the replacement of Yellen.

The greenback also received support after U.S. import price data in September, which was the highest in more than a year.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that import prices jumped 0.7 percent last month, the biggest gain since June 2016, after rising by 0.6 percent in August.

Better-than-expected data on U.S. industrial production for September and homebuilder confidence for October also pointed to a strengthening economy.

The currency has been trading in a positive territory against its major rivals on Tuesday, with the exception of the yen.

The greenback climbed to 0.9789 against the franc, from a low of 0.9774 hit at 8:00 pm ET. If the greenback rises further, 0.99 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The greenback edged up to 112.36 against the yen from Tuesday's closing value of 112.19. Continuation of the greenback's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 113.00 mark.

The greenback rose to 1.1759 against the euro, after having fallen to 1.1781 at 8:00 pm ET. On the upside, 1.16 is likely seen as the next resistance for the greenback.

The greenback gained to 1.3172 against the pound, compared to 1.3189 hit late New York Tuesday. The next possible resistance for the greenback is seen around the 1.30 region.

The greenback bounced off to 0.7147 against the kiwi, 0.7840 against the aussie and 1.2512 against the loonie, from its early lows of 0.7178 and 0.7858, and a 2-day low of 1.2488, respectively. Further uptrend may take the greenback to resistance levels of around 0.70 against the kiwi, 0.77 against the aussie and 1.26 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, U.K. labor data is due in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. building permits and housing starts for September as well as Canada manufacturing sales for August are due.

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