The U.S. dollar extended overnight rally against its key counterparts in pre-European trading on Thursday, as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting showed an optimistic outlook about the U.S. economy and hinted at the possibility of an interest rate hike in June.

“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 Committee to increase the target range for the federal funds rate in June,” the minutes from the April 26-27 meeting showed.

The Fed minutes echoed recent speeches by Fed officials, who led the markets to price in a hike as soon as next month.

Investors now focus on weekly jobless claims for the week ended May 14, as well as speeches by Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and New York Fed chief William Dudley in New York for more indications about the monetary policy.

The greenback appreciated 1.3 percent against the franc, 1.5 percent against the yen and 0.8 percent against the euro since last week, on growing hopes for an early Fed rate hike.

The greenback rallied to a 2-month high of 0.9886 against the Swiss franc, compared to 0.9876 hit late New York Wednesday. Continuation of the greenback’s uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 1.00 mark.

The greenback appreciated a 3-week high of 110.38 against the yen, up from yesterday’s closing quote of 110.19.If the greenback-yen pair extend gain, 112.00 is likely seen as its next resistance level.

Data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan’s core machine orders jumped 5.5 percent on month in March.

That beat forecasts for a decline of 2.0 percent following the 9.2 percent slide in February.

The greenback hit 1.1206 against the euro, its highest since March 29. The pair was worth 1.1215 when it closed yesterday’s trading. On the upside, the greenback is likely to find resistance around the 1.10 level.

The greenback was trading higher at 1.4563 against the pound, up from Wednesday’s closing value of 1.4596. The next possible resistance for the greenback may be found around the 1.43 region.

The greenback spiked up to a 2-1/2-month high of 0.7192 against the aussie and a 1-1/2-month high of 1.3081 against the loonie, from yesterday’s closing values of 0.7228 and 1.3034, respectively. The greenback is seen finding resistance around 0.70 against the aussie and 1.32 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, U.K. retail sales data for April and Eurozone construction output for March are due to be released, later in the day.

At 7:30 am ET, European Central Bank will publish the minutes of April rate setting meeting in Frankfurt.

In the New York session, Canada wholesales data for March and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended May 14, Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for May and U.S. leading indicators for April are slated for release.

At 8:00 am ET, ECB Governing council member and central bank of Ireland Governor Philip Lane is expected to speak at the capital markets conference in Dublin.

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