Investing.com - The dollar dipped against the other major currencies on Tuesday as investors positioned ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting beginning later in the session.
The dollar remained on the back foot after a disappointing report on U.S. home sales prompted investors to trim back expectations for a rate hike before the years end.
U.S. new home sales dropped 11.5% last month to 468,000 units from 529,000 in August. Analysts had expected new home sales to slip 0.4% to 550,000 in September.
The Fed was widely expected to keep rates on hold until early 2016 but investors were awaiting the banks rate statement for fresh indications on the timing of an initial rate hike.
The dollar was weaker against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.53% to 120.44, off Monday’s two-month highs of 121.47.
The greenback’s losses were held in check as the diverging monetary policy stance between the Fed and other central banks underpinned dollar demand.
Many investors expect the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan to expand their stimulus programs to support economic growth. The BoJ was to hold its next policy meeting on Friday.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1050 as diverging monetary expectations continued to weigh on the single currency.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, edged down 0.06% to 96.86.