The US dollar gained on the euro and the yen Wednesday after the Labor Department reported that non-farm worker productivity was up in the first quarter and on comments from the president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve.

Non-farm productivity was up by 2.2 percent on an annualized basis in the first quarter even as worker hours fell 1.8 percent in the quarter.

Meanwhile, the president of the Kansas City Fed said in a speech that the threat of inflation might force the Fed to raise interest rates soon.

The euro, on the other hand, was hurt by decline in retail sales in the Eurozone in March, with sales down by 0.4 percent from February and down 1.6 percent from the same time last year, while new data out of Germany showed manufacturer orders there down 5 percent in March.

At just past 11 a.m. in New York, the dollar traded at $1.5400 to the euro while it took \105.3300 to buy a dollar.

The shared currency weakened versus the yen, with it costing \162.2081 to buy a euro.

The pound weakened in relation to the US dollar, the euro, and the Canadian dollar on bad news concerning consumer sentiment and factory output.

Nationwide Building Society’s index of consumer sentiment dropped 7 points, to 70, in April, its lowest level since the index was inaugurated in May 2004, while the Office for National Statistics reported that UK factory output fell 0.5 percent in March.

In late morning trade in New York, it took $1.9533 or C$1.9579 to buy a pound while the British currency traded at 78.84p to the euro.