Investing.com - The dollar was steady against the other major currencies as markets treaded water ahead of the Federal Reserve’s keenly anticipated monetary policy announcement later in the session.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was weaker against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.32% to 95.01.
Markets were looking to the Fed’s rate statement and press conference later Wednesday for indications on the future direction of the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month assert purchase program.
The greenback has come under heavy selling pressure since Chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony to Congress last month that the Fed could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
The dollar was steady close to four month lows against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.02% to 1.3395.
Elsewhere, the pound edged higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.12% to 1.5662.
Sterling came under pressure earlier after the minutes of the Bank of England’s June meeting showed that outgoing Governor Mervyn King and two other policymakers voted in favor of increasing the size of the asset purchase program by a further GBP25 billion, while six voted against.
The bank said recent economic data has been largely positive and was consistent with the slow but sustained recovery outlined in the bank’s quarterly forecasts last month.
The dollar was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching down 0.02% to 0.9200.
The greenback was lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD climbing 0.53% to 0.9535, NZD/USD advancing 0.70% to 0.8044 and USD/CAD sliding 0.13% to 1.0195.
In Canada, official data showed that wholesale sales rose 0.2% in April, undershooting expectations for a 1% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.10% to 80.73.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was weaker against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.32% to 95.01.
Markets were looking to the Fed’s rate statement and press conference later Wednesday for indications on the future direction of the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month assert purchase program.
The greenback has come under heavy selling pressure since Chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony to Congress last month that the Fed could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
The dollar was steady close to four month lows against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.02% to 1.3395.
Elsewhere, the pound edged higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.12% to 1.5662.
Sterling came under pressure earlier after the minutes of the Bank of England’s June meeting showed that outgoing Governor Mervyn King and two other policymakers voted in favor of increasing the size of the asset purchase program by a further GBP25 billion, while six voted against.
The bank said recent economic data has been largely positive and was consistent with the slow but sustained recovery outlined in the bank’s quarterly forecasts last month.
The dollar was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching down 0.02% to 0.9200.
The greenback was lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD climbing 0.53% to 0.9535, NZD/USD advancing 0.70% to 0.8044 and USD/CAD sliding 0.13% to 1.0195.
In Canada, official data showed that wholesale sales rose 0.2% in April, undershooting expectations for a 1% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.10% to 80.73.