Investing.com - The dollar was broadly higher against the other main currencies on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the outcome of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy meeting.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was trading close to session highs against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.35% to 98.02.
Demand for the greenback was underpinned by the view that markets have already priced in expectations that the Fed will make no changes to its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program Wednesday.
Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer confidence fell more sharply than forecast in October, as concerns over economic impact of the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis weighed.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 75.0 this month.
The data came on the heels of a report showing that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1% in September. Another report showed that U.S. producer price inflation ticked lower last month.
The data cemented expectations that the Fed will maintain its stimulus program well into the first quarter of next year, in order to safeguard the faltering economic recovery.
The euro was slightly lower against the dollar, holding off last Friday’s 23-month highs, with EUR/USD slipping 0.12% to 1.3769.
The single currency briefly touched session highs against the dollar after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the bank was unlikely to cut the benchmark interest rate or the deposit rate at next week’s policy meeting. He also said the central bank had no instruments to use against the strong euro.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.52% to 1.6058.
In the U.K., data on Tuesday showed that mortgage approvals rose to the highest level since February 2008 in September, adding to signs of a recovery in the housing market.
The dollar was holding above last week’s 20-month lows against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.27% to 0.8981.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.80% to 0.9496 and NZD/USD down 0.44% to 0.8265.
Australia’s dollar weakened after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said Tuesday it was likely the Australian dollar would fall materially in the future as exchange rate levels are not supported by Australia’s relative levels of costs and productivity.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD dipping 0.02% to 1.0442.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% to 79.58.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was trading close to session highs against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.35% to 98.02.
Demand for the greenback was underpinned by the view that markets have already priced in expectations that the Fed will make no changes to its USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program Wednesday.
Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer confidence fell more sharply than forecast in October, as concerns over economic impact of the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis weighed.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 75.0 this month.
The data came on the heels of a report showing that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1% in September. Another report showed that U.S. producer price inflation ticked lower last month.
The data cemented expectations that the Fed will maintain its stimulus program well into the first quarter of next year, in order to safeguard the faltering economic recovery.
The euro was slightly lower against the dollar, holding off last Friday’s 23-month highs, with EUR/USD slipping 0.12% to 1.3769.
The single currency briefly touched session highs against the dollar after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the bank was unlikely to cut the benchmark interest rate or the deposit rate at next week’s policy meeting. He also said the central bank had no instruments to use against the strong euro.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.52% to 1.6058.
In the U.K., data on Tuesday showed that mortgage approvals rose to the highest level since February 2008 in September, adding to signs of a recovery in the housing market.
The dollar was holding above last week’s 20-month lows against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.27% to 0.8981.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.80% to 0.9496 and NZD/USD down 0.44% to 0.8265.
Australia’s dollar weakened after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said Tuesday it was likely the Australian dollar would fall materially in the future as exchange rate levels are not supported by Australia’s relative levels of costs and productivity.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD dipping 0.02% to 1.0442.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% to 79.58.