Investing.com - The dollar traded flat to lower against most major currencies on Wednesday as investors saw uninspiring U.S. housing and consumer confidence data as reason to sell and jump to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.
The euro was mainly flat against the dollar in Asian trading Wednesday, with EUR/USD down 0.02% and trading at 1.3195 and paring back earlier gains.
The euro saw a boost earlier after Italy, Spain and the Netherlands successfully sold government debt at auction.
In the U.S., however, economic data left investors largely uninspired.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller house price index fell at an annualized rate of 3.5% in February from a year earlier, worse than expectations for a 3.4% decline.
New home sales in the U.S. fell by 7.1% to a seasonally adjusted 328,000 units in March, and while slightly better than expectations for a reading of 320,000, the number was not enough to prevent investors from selling the greenback to invest elsewhere.
Consumer confidence, meanwhile, slipped in the world's largest economy as well.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index fell to 69.2 in April from a downwardly revised reading of 69.5 in March and further below a 12-month high in February.
Analysts were hoping the index would rise to 69.7 in April.
Many investors sold the greenback ahead of the Federal Reserve's announced decision on interest rates, likely seen holding near zero.
Markets will pay close attention to Fed language in its statement and whether or not voting members of the rate-setting body, the Federal Open Market Committee, are more or less inclined to jolt the economy via bond buybacks from banks known as quantitative easing, which can considerably weaken the dollar.
The pound, meanwhile, posted gains against the greenback earlier on sentiment the economy there is stronger and decoupling as best as it can from the crisis-wracked European continent.
The U.K. will release growth figures later Wednesday, and hopes are growing there that the Bank of England will see no reason to roll out easing measures of its own.
In Asian trading however, the dollar regained its strength.
The dollar firmed against the Japanese yen on growing sentiment the Bank of Japan will take added steps to weaken its currency, which would draw applause from the country's vital export sector.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.03% and trading at 1.6140.
The U.S. currency was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.10% at 81.39, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.03% and trading at 0.9108.
The dollar was up against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.08% at 0.9879, AUD/USD down 0.07% at 1.0308 and NZD/USD down 0.13% at 0.8121.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 79.32.
The U.S. will release government data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, and crude oil stockpiles.
The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on benchmark interest rates and release its rate statement.
Also Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to speak.
The euro was mainly flat against the dollar in Asian trading Wednesday, with EUR/USD down 0.02% and trading at 1.3195 and paring back earlier gains.
The euro saw a boost earlier after Italy, Spain and the Netherlands successfully sold government debt at auction.
In the U.S., however, economic data left investors largely uninspired.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller house price index fell at an annualized rate of 3.5% in February from a year earlier, worse than expectations for a 3.4% decline.
New home sales in the U.S. fell by 7.1% to a seasonally adjusted 328,000 units in March, and while slightly better than expectations for a reading of 320,000, the number was not enough to prevent investors from selling the greenback to invest elsewhere.
Consumer confidence, meanwhile, slipped in the world's largest economy as well.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index fell to 69.2 in April from a downwardly revised reading of 69.5 in March and further below a 12-month high in February.
Analysts were hoping the index would rise to 69.7 in April.
Many investors sold the greenback ahead of the Federal Reserve's announced decision on interest rates, likely seen holding near zero.
Markets will pay close attention to Fed language in its statement and whether or not voting members of the rate-setting body, the Federal Open Market Committee, are more or less inclined to jolt the economy via bond buybacks from banks known as quantitative easing, which can considerably weaken the dollar.
The pound, meanwhile, posted gains against the greenback earlier on sentiment the economy there is stronger and decoupling as best as it can from the crisis-wracked European continent.
The U.K. will release growth figures later Wednesday, and hopes are growing there that the Bank of England will see no reason to roll out easing measures of its own.
In Asian trading however, the dollar regained its strength.
The dollar firmed against the Japanese yen on growing sentiment the Bank of Japan will take added steps to weaken its currency, which would draw applause from the country's vital export sector.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.03% and trading at 1.6140.
The U.S. currency was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.10% at 81.39, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.03% and trading at 0.9108.
The dollar was up against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.08% at 0.9879, AUD/USD down 0.07% at 1.0308 and NZD/USD down 0.13% at 0.8121.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 79.32.
The U.S. will release government data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, and crude oil stockpiles.
The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on benchmark interest rates and release its rate statement.
Also Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to speak.