Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower against most of its major counterparts on Wednesday, as market participants awaited the outcome of a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers later in the day.
During European morning trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.2% to trade at 1.3223.
The Fed was expected to reiterate its intent to keep U.S. interest rates near zero through late 2014, but market participants were awaiting any indications that policymakers were considering a third round of quantitative easing measures.
Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. home prices and consumer confidence came in weaker-than-expected, while U.S. home sales fell slightly less-than-expected.
The euro remained supported following relatively successful euro zone bond auctions on Tuesday but investors remained wary of pushing the single currency too high amid ongoing concerns over risks from politically instability in the region, stemming from France and The Netherlands.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said earlier that the central bank is confident the wider economy will eventually benefit from its long term refinancing operations.
Speaking before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Committee in Brussels, he gave no indication on whether the ECB will provide further support to banks or governments.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.29% to trade at 1.6097.
The pound weakened broadly after official data showed that the U.K. economy entered a recession in the first quarter.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the three months to March after contracting by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, confounding expectations for 0.1% growth.
Following the release of the data, U.K. Chancellor George Osborne said the economic situation is very difficult but warned that abandoning the government’s deficit reduction plan would make the situation even worse.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.15% to hit 81.19 and USD/CHF shedding 0.17% to trade at 0.9089.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing down 0.02% to trade at 0.9870, AUD/USD gaining 0.19% to hit 1.0335 and NZD/USD up 0.05% to hit 0.8134.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.16% to trade at 79.20, the lowest since April 3.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish government data on durable goods orders. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement was to be followed by a press conference with Chairman Ben Bernanke.
During European morning trade, the dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.2% to trade at 1.3223.
The Fed was expected to reiterate its intent to keep U.S. interest rates near zero through late 2014, but market participants were awaiting any indications that policymakers were considering a third round of quantitative easing measures.
Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. home prices and consumer confidence came in weaker-than-expected, while U.S. home sales fell slightly less-than-expected.
The euro remained supported following relatively successful euro zone bond auctions on Tuesday but investors remained wary of pushing the single currency too high amid ongoing concerns over risks from politically instability in the region, stemming from France and The Netherlands.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said earlier that the central bank is confident the wider economy will eventually benefit from its long term refinancing operations.
Speaking before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Committee in Brussels, he gave no indication on whether the ECB will provide further support to banks or governments.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.29% to trade at 1.6097.
The pound weakened broadly after official data showed that the U.K. economy entered a recession in the first quarter.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the three months to March after contracting by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, confounding expectations for 0.1% growth.
Following the release of the data, U.K. Chancellor George Osborne said the economic situation is very difficult but warned that abandoning the government’s deficit reduction plan would make the situation even worse.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.15% to hit 81.19 and USD/CHF shedding 0.17% to trade at 0.9089.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD easing down 0.02% to trade at 0.9870, AUD/USD gaining 0.19% to hit 1.0335 and NZD/USD up 0.05% to hit 0.8134.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.16% to trade at 79.20, the lowest since April 3.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was to publish government data on durable goods orders. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement was to be followed by a press conference with Chairman Ben Bernanke.