Investing.com - The dollar was still broadly lower against other major currencies on Wednesday, despite the release of mostly positive U.S. data, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision due later in the day.
EUR/USD was up 0.27% at 1.0633.
The U.S. Commerce Department earlier reported that the consumer price index rose 0.1% last month, meeting forecasts. Year-over-year, consumer prices increased by 2.7% in February.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, gained 0.2% last month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in February, in line with forecasts.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, increased by 0.2% in February, in line with consensus expectations.
In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its Empire State manufacturing index slipped to 16.40 in February from 18.70 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 15.00.
Later Wednesday, the Fed was widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point at the conclusion of its policy meeting later Wednesday, which would put it in a range between 0.75%-1%.
Investors were also focusing on Wednesday's Dutch election, which is considered as a bellwether for the spread of populism in Europe.
Opinion polls have suggested that Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders' right-wing Freedom Party, which wants to take the Netherlands out of the European Union and stop Muslim immigration, has lost its lead to more mainstream opponents.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD gained 0.50% to 1.2214.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday that unemployment rate dropped to a fresh 11-year low of 4.7% in the three months to January, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading of 4.8%.
The report also showed that the claimant count decreased by 11,300 in February, compared to expectations for a 5,000 decline.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index rose 2.2% in the three months to January. Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.3%, missing forecasts for a 2.5% gain.
USD/JPY held steady at 114.73, while USD/CHF slipped 0.28% to 1.0074.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.44% at 0.7593 and with NZD/USD gaining 0.49% to 0.6953.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD fell 0.23% to trade at 1.3448.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.26% at 101.36.