Investing.com - The dollar fell against the world's major currencies on Wednesday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that while the economy is showing signs of improvement, headwinds still prevail and rolling out fresh stimulus measures cannot be ruled out.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, the euro was up against the greenback, with EUR/USD rising 0.14% and trading at 1.3333.
Earlier this week, Federal Chairman Bernanke suggested loose monetary policies will need to continue in order to fuel consumer and business demand in a way to make lasting improvement to the labor market.
Despite gains in the labor market, hiring remains unacceptably weak.
"Further significant improvements in the unemployment rate will likely require a more-rapid expansion of production and demand from consumers and businesses, a process that can be supported by continued accommodative policies," Bernanke told the National Association for Business Economics Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
Bernanke appeared again in public in the U.S. prior to Asia's opening on Wednesday, and while a little softer, he still reiterated he cannot rule out the need for extraordinary stimulus measures like bond purchases from banks, which flood the economy with liquidity to promote hiring and price stability while pushing long-term rates lower and weakening the dollar in the process.
"Well, we don't take any options off the table," Bernanke told ABC News.
"We don't know what's going to happen in the future, and we have to be prepared to respond to however the economy evolves."
Lackluster economic data in the U.S. didn't help the dollar either.
The Conference Board reported that its closely watched consumer confidence index slipped to 70.2 in March from a revised 71.6 in February, slightly worse than an expected reading of 70.3.
Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. house price index fell at an annualized rate of 3.8% in January from a year earlier, meeting expectations although the reading shows that home prices continue falling.
The market wasn't totally focused on the U.S.
Sentiments are building that European policymakers are closer to agreeing on ways to bolster a financial firewall to contain the debt crisis, which sent the euro rising.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.07% and trading at 1.5960.
The greenback was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.24% at 82.98, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.15% at 0.9040.
The greenback was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.08% at 0.9956, AUD/USD down 0.14% at 1.0444 and NZD/USD down 0.09% at 0.8198.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.03% at 79.25.
Later Wednesday, markets will move on data for durable goods orders in the U.S. and also on gasoline and crude inventories.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, the euro was up against the greenback, with EUR/USD rising 0.14% and trading at 1.3333.
Earlier this week, Federal Chairman Bernanke suggested loose monetary policies will need to continue in order to fuel consumer and business demand in a way to make lasting improvement to the labor market.
Despite gains in the labor market, hiring remains unacceptably weak.
"Further significant improvements in the unemployment rate will likely require a more-rapid expansion of production and demand from consumers and businesses, a process that can be supported by continued accommodative policies," Bernanke told the National Association for Business Economics Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
Bernanke appeared again in public in the U.S. prior to Asia's opening on Wednesday, and while a little softer, he still reiterated he cannot rule out the need for extraordinary stimulus measures like bond purchases from banks, which flood the economy with liquidity to promote hiring and price stability while pushing long-term rates lower and weakening the dollar in the process.
"Well, we don't take any options off the table," Bernanke told ABC News.
"We don't know what's going to happen in the future, and we have to be prepared to respond to however the economy evolves."
Lackluster economic data in the U.S. didn't help the dollar either.
The Conference Board reported that its closely watched consumer confidence index slipped to 70.2 in March from a revised 71.6 in February, slightly worse than an expected reading of 70.3.
Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. house price index fell at an annualized rate of 3.8% in January from a year earlier, meeting expectations although the reading shows that home prices continue falling.
The market wasn't totally focused on the U.S.
Sentiments are building that European policymakers are closer to agreeing on ways to bolster a financial firewall to contain the debt crisis, which sent the euro rising.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.07% and trading at 1.5960.
The greenback was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.24% at 82.98, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.15% at 0.9040.
The greenback was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.08% at 0.9956, AUD/USD down 0.14% at 1.0444 and NZD/USD down 0.09% at 0.8198.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.03% at 79.25.
Later Wednesday, markets will move on data for durable goods orders in the U.S. and also on gasoline and crude inventories.