Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision as investors waited to see what steps might be taken to boost U.S. growth.
During European morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to hit 1.3676.
Concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone eased after Greece’s finance minister said “good progress” had been made in a second round of talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund on Tuesday and added that talks would continue this weekend.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.63% to hit 1.5635.
Earlier in the day, the minutes of the Bank of England’s September policy meeting showed that policymakers are ready to pump more money into the faltering economy, with a chance of more assets purchases as soon as next month.
A separate report showed that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose significantly more-than-expected in August, climbing to GBP13.2 billion, above expectations for GBP11.4 billion.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen but was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.11% to hit 76.36 and USD/CHF climbing 0.60% to hit 0.8931.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said earlier that he was closely watching markets and remained ready to take “bold” action on currencies if needed.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.21% to hit 0.9946, AUD/USD shedding 0.29% to hit 1.0246 and NZD/USD losing 0.34% to hit 0.8213.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% to hit 77.69.
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee was to conclude its two-day policy meeting later in the day, with Chairman Ben Bernanke expected to announce plans to replace short-term Treasuries with long-term bonds, in a move known as Operation Twist.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales.
During European morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to hit 1.3676.
Concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone eased after Greece’s finance minister said “good progress” had been made in a second round of talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund on Tuesday and added that talks would continue this weekend.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD falling 0.63% to hit 1.5635.
Earlier in the day, the minutes of the Bank of England’s September policy meeting showed that policymakers are ready to pump more money into the faltering economy, with a chance of more assets purchases as soon as next month.
A separate report showed that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose significantly more-than-expected in August, climbing to GBP13.2 billion, above expectations for GBP11.4 billion.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen but was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.11% to hit 76.36 and USD/CHF climbing 0.60% to hit 0.8931.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said earlier that he was closely watching markets and remained ready to take “bold” action on currencies if needed.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD rising 0.21% to hit 0.9946, AUD/USD shedding 0.29% to hit 1.0246 and NZD/USD losing 0.34% to hit 0.8213.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% to hit 77.69.
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee was to conclude its two-day policy meeting later in the day, with Chairman Ben Bernanke expected to announce plans to replace short-term Treasuries with long-term bonds, in a move known as Operation Twist.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales.