The dollar rallied on Wednesday, shrugging off a softer-than-expected US private-sector payrolls report for February that may have been affected by severe winter conditions. US private employers added 139,000 jobs in February, lower than market expectations, and gains the previous month were revised downward, a report by a payrolls processor showed. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 160,000 jobs.
The dollar's gains were also helped by losses in the yen, which fell for a second straight day as concerns over a Russia-Ukraine stand-off eased.
At midmorning, the euro was down 0.2 percent versus the dollar at $1.3721, pulling back from Friday's two-month high of $1.3824. The euro was higher against the yen at 140.65 yen after gaining 0.8 percent on Tuesday, while the dollar rose 0.3 percent at 102.51 yen after posting its biggest one-day gain since mid-January a day earlier. The greenback was also up 0.2 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.8885 franc.