Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as investors awaited the outcome of a key Federal Reserve policy setting meeting later in the day.
During European morning trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.17% to hit 1.4668.
But the greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.20% to hit 1.6447.
Elsewhere, the greenback was also higher against the yen but was unchanged against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY climbing 0.32% to hit 81.84 and USD/CHF trading flat at 0.8751.
Earlier in the day, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for Japan's sovereign debt rating to negative from stable, warning that reconstruction costs following last month’s earthquake will add to what is already the world’s biggest debt load.
Meanwhile, the greenback edged higher against its Canadian counterpart but was lower against it Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD easing up 0.04% to hit 0.9519, AUD/USD gaining 0.31% to hit 1.0817 and NZD/USD rising 0.18% to hit 0.8059.
Earlier Wednesday, a government report showed that that Australian consumer prices increased by the most in five years in the first quarter, boosting expectations for fresh interest rate hikes by the country’s central bank this year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.09%.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, while the Federal Reserve was to announce its federal funds rate. The announcement was to be followed by the first-ever post policy meeting press conference by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
During European morning trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.17% to hit 1.4668.
But the greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.20% to hit 1.6447.
Elsewhere, the greenback was also higher against the yen but was unchanged against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY climbing 0.32% to hit 81.84 and USD/CHF trading flat at 0.8751.
Earlier in the day, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for Japan's sovereign debt rating to negative from stable, warning that reconstruction costs following last month’s earthquake will add to what is already the world’s biggest debt load.
Meanwhile, the greenback edged higher against its Canadian counterpart but was lower against it Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD easing up 0.04% to hit 0.9519, AUD/USD gaining 0.31% to hit 1.0817 and NZD/USD rising 0.18% to hit 0.8059.
Earlier Wednesday, a government report showed that that Australian consumer prices increased by the most in five years in the first quarter, boosting expectations for fresh interest rate hikes by the country’s central bank this year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.09%.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, while the Federal Reserve was to announce its federal funds rate. The announcement was to be followed by the first-ever post policy meeting press conference by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.