Investing.com - The dollar rose against most major currencies on Wednesday even after the Federal Reserve said it was making no changes to its ultra-loose monetary policies that have kept the greenback in recent years.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.09% at 1.3733.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its key benchmark lending target, the fed funds rate, unchanged at 0.25% and kept its USD85 billion monthly asset-purchasing program in place.
The Fed said the economy was showing signs of improvement though it still faced enough headwinds to prompt monetary authorities to hold off on tapering its asset purchases, namely fiscal uncertainties that continue to drag on recovery.
Stimulus tools such as asset purchases aim to drive recovery by keeping long-term interest rates lower, weakening the dollar in the process.
"Economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace. Indicators of labor market conditions have shown some further improvement, but the unemployment rate remains elevated," the Fed said in a statement.
"Available data suggest that household spending and business fixed investment advanced, while the recovery in the housing sector slowed somewhat in recent months. Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth."
Stimulus tools such as monthly asset purchases tend to weaken the dollar, though Wednesday's announcement came as little surprise to investors, many of whom felt the statement wasn't as dovish as anticipated.
Past statements have shown the Fed was concerned that fiscal uncertainty was threatening to slow job creation, a statement the U.S. central bank did not include this month, which gave the dollar room to rise on sentiments that bond purchases may begin to taper in early 2014 as oppose to later in the new year.
Elsewhere, payroll processing firm ADP said U.S. non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 130,000 in October, below expectations for an increase of 150,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 145,000 from a previously reported increase of 166,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% in September, in line with forecasts, after rising by 0.1% in August.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.15% at 1.6023.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.36% at 98.54, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.07% at 0.8996.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.10% at 1.0479, AUD/USD down 0.10% at 0.9470 and NZD/USD trading down 0.32% at 0.8228.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.16% at 79.81.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release data on initial jobless claims and a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.09% at 1.3733.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its key benchmark lending target, the fed funds rate, unchanged at 0.25% and kept its USD85 billion monthly asset-purchasing program in place.
The Fed said the economy was showing signs of improvement though it still faced enough headwinds to prompt monetary authorities to hold off on tapering its asset purchases, namely fiscal uncertainties that continue to drag on recovery.
Stimulus tools such as asset purchases aim to drive recovery by keeping long-term interest rates lower, weakening the dollar in the process.
"Economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace. Indicators of labor market conditions have shown some further improvement, but the unemployment rate remains elevated," the Fed said in a statement.
"Available data suggest that household spending and business fixed investment advanced, while the recovery in the housing sector slowed somewhat in recent months. Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth."
Stimulus tools such as monthly asset purchases tend to weaken the dollar, though Wednesday's announcement came as little surprise to investors, many of whom felt the statement wasn't as dovish as anticipated.
Past statements have shown the Fed was concerned that fiscal uncertainty was threatening to slow job creation, a statement the U.S. central bank did not include this month, which gave the dollar room to rise on sentiments that bond purchases may begin to taper in early 2014 as oppose to later in the new year.
Elsewhere, payroll processing firm ADP said U.S. non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 130,000 in October, below expectations for an increase of 150,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 145,000 from a previously reported increase of 166,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% in September, in line with forecasts, after rising by 0.1% in August.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.15% at 1.6023.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.36% at 98.54, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.07% at 0.8996.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.10% at 1.0479, AUD/USD down 0.10% at 0.9470 and NZD/USD trading down 0.32% at 0.8228.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.16% at 79.81.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release data on initial jobless claims and a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region.