Investing.com - The Australian dollar fell after the Reserve Bank of Australia said it was not closing off the possibility of cutting the cash rate further, according to minutes of a Dec. 3 board meeting released Tuesday.
"The Board's judgment remained that, given the substantial degree of policy stimulus that had been imparted, it was prudent to hold the cash rate steady while continuing to gauge the effects of earlier reductions, but not to close off the possibility of reducing it further should that be appropriate to support sustainable growth in economic activity, consistent with the inflation
target," the RBA said in the minutes. The cash rate is currently at a record low 2.5%.
AUD/USD traded at 0.8942, down 0.05%, in a range of 0.8930 - 0.8958 in Asia.
In Japan, JPY/USD traded at 103.05, up 0.03%, with the market focused on the upcoming two-day Federal Reserve meeting with a press conference scheduled Dec. 18.
EUR/USD traded at 1.3758, down 0.03%.
Overnight, the dollar moved largely lower against most major currencies after hit-or-miss economic indicators released earlier cast doubts on recent expectations for the Federal Reserve to announce plans to taper its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases.
London-based market research group Markit reported earlier that its preliminary U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 in December from a final reading of 54.7 in November.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 54.9 this month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported earlier that its Empire State manufacturing index came in at 0.98 in December compared to November's -2.21 reading, though analysts were expecting the index to rise to 4.75.
Separately, the Federal Reserve reported that U.S. industrial production advanced 1.1% in November after having edged up 0.1% in October, beating consensus forecasts for a 0.5% November reading.
The data encouraged investors to sell the greenback for profits until the Fed makes its policy stance clear on Wednesday.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.11% at 80.25.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to release data on consumer inflation and its current account balance.
"The Board's judgment remained that, given the substantial degree of policy stimulus that had been imparted, it was prudent to hold the cash rate steady while continuing to gauge the effects of earlier reductions, but not to close off the possibility of reducing it further should that be appropriate to support sustainable growth in economic activity, consistent with the inflation
target," the RBA said in the minutes. The cash rate is currently at a record low 2.5%.
AUD/USD traded at 0.8942, down 0.05%, in a range of 0.8930 - 0.8958 in Asia.
In Japan, JPY/USD traded at 103.05, up 0.03%, with the market focused on the upcoming two-day Federal Reserve meeting with a press conference scheduled Dec. 18.
EUR/USD traded at 1.3758, down 0.03%.
Overnight, the dollar moved largely lower against most major currencies after hit-or-miss economic indicators released earlier cast doubts on recent expectations for the Federal Reserve to announce plans to taper its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases.
London-based market research group Markit reported earlier that its preliminary U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 in December from a final reading of 54.7 in November.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 54.9 this month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported earlier that its Empire State manufacturing index came in at 0.98 in December compared to November's -2.21 reading, though analysts were expecting the index to rise to 4.75.
Separately, the Federal Reserve reported that U.S. industrial production advanced 1.1% in November after having edged up 0.1% in October, beating consensus forecasts for a 0.5% November reading.
The data encouraged investors to sell the greenback for profits until the Fed makes its policy stance clear on Wednesday.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.11% at 80.25.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to release data on consumer inflation and its current account balance.