Investing.com - The dollar was steady close to recent highs against the euro and the yen on Wednesday as investors awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting later in the day.
EUR/USD was down 0.12% to 1.2950, remaining supported above the 14-month low of 1.2858 reached early last week.
The dollar rallied against the other major currencies last week boosted by expectations for an early hike in U.S. interest rates, while expectations for continued monetary stimulus in European and Japan pressured the euro and the yen lower.
The Fed was expected to cut its asset purchase program by another $10 billion later Wednesday, which would keep it on track for winding up the program in October, and to start raising interest rates sometime in mid-2015.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen was to hold what would be a closely watched press conference following the meeting.
The euro remained supported despite data on Tuesday showing that German economic sentiment continued to deteriorate this month, falling to the lowest level since December 2012.
The ZEW index of German economic sentiment fell to 6.9 this month, down from 8.6 in August amid uncertainty over Germany’s economic outlook as a result of sanctions against Russia, and concerns over the subdued outlook for the euro zone.
USD/JPY edged up 0.09% to 107.20, not far from Friday’s six year highs of 107.38, after falling to lows of 106.80 overnight.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was almost unchanged at 84.21 not far from the 14-month peak of 84.51 reached on September 9.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the yen, with EUR/JPY at 138.85.