Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower against its major counterparts in Asian trade Wednesday, as dealers await the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting and possible signs of a liquidity boost for the U.S. economy.
In mid-day Asian trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.10% to hit 1.3716.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee began its two-day policy meeting where market watchers expect the Fed to opt for a move known as “Operation Twist,” a combination of buying and selling of shorter and longer term Treasury bonds in order the bend the yield curve.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of building permits issued in August registered a seven-month high, rising 3.2% and outperforming market expectations of a 1.8% decline.
New housing starts, however, fell 5% to a three-month low, far below economist’s forecast of a 2.3% drop.
Wall Street shares traded in negative territory for much of the Tuesday session before closing mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.07%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 0.86%, and the S&P 500 shed 0.17%.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against the British pound, with GBP/USD down 0.04% to hit 1.5729.
The dollar was lower against both the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY dipping 0.15% to hit 76.33, and USD/CHF down by 0.15% to hit 0.8864.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD up 0.11% to hit 0.9936, AUD/USD lower by 0.13% to hit 1.01263, and NZD/USD falling 0.26% to hit 0.8219.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.09% at 77.44.
The U.S. Federal Reserve was to conclude its two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting later Wednesday.