Investing.com- The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts in Asian trading Tuesday ahead of the start of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting later today.
In Asian trading Tuesday EUR/USD was off 0.02% at 1.2940. In U.S. trading Monday, the pair rose 0.13% to 1.2944.
The U.S. Federal Reserve opens its last monetary policy meeting of the year on Tuesday and most traders are either expecting the central bank to stick with its currently loose policies or perhaps engage in further monetary easing.
With U.S. interest rates hovering near historic lows, a rate cut is unlikely and the Fed has already pledged to keep rates low through mid-2015. However, the Fed could engage in additional bond-buying activities, also known as quantitative easing.
With Operation Twist slated to end this month, traders are betting the Fed will start buying Treasuries again in an effort to boost the U.S. economy.
EUR/USD was also under pressure in Asian trading following news that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will resign when his country ratifies a 2013 budget. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is angling for the job once again. Berlusconi has promised to scale back Monti’s austerity measures if elected again. Italy is the Eurozone’s third-largest economy behind Germany and France.
The greenback gained some against the yen with USD/JPY trading higher by 0.05% to 82.40. Sterling was flat against the dollar with GBP/USD residing at 1.6077. USD/CHF was higher by 0.02% 0.9338.
Amid falling oil prices, the greenback looked to be snapping a multi-day losing streak against its Candian rival as USD/CAD was higher by 0.06% to 0.9870.
AUD/USD slid 0.14% to 1.0474 while NZD/USD gave up 0.01% to 0.8349.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket comprised of the euro, yen, pound, franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, climbed 0.03 to 83.47.
In Asian trading Tuesday EUR/USD was off 0.02% at 1.2940. In U.S. trading Monday, the pair rose 0.13% to 1.2944.
The U.S. Federal Reserve opens its last monetary policy meeting of the year on Tuesday and most traders are either expecting the central bank to stick with its currently loose policies or perhaps engage in further monetary easing.
With U.S. interest rates hovering near historic lows, a rate cut is unlikely and the Fed has already pledged to keep rates low through mid-2015. However, the Fed could engage in additional bond-buying activities, also known as quantitative easing.
With Operation Twist slated to end this month, traders are betting the Fed will start buying Treasuries again in an effort to boost the U.S. economy.
EUR/USD was also under pressure in Asian trading following news that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will resign when his country ratifies a 2013 budget. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is angling for the job once again. Berlusconi has promised to scale back Monti’s austerity measures if elected again. Italy is the Eurozone’s third-largest economy behind Germany and France.
The greenback gained some against the yen with USD/JPY trading higher by 0.05% to 82.40. Sterling was flat against the dollar with GBP/USD residing at 1.6077. USD/CHF was higher by 0.02% 0.9338.
Amid falling oil prices, the greenback looked to be snapping a multi-day losing streak against its Candian rival as USD/CAD was higher by 0.06% to 0.9870.
AUD/USD slid 0.14% to 1.0474 while NZD/USD gave up 0.01% to 0.8349.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket comprised of the euro, yen, pound, franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, climbed 0.03 to 83.47.