(RTTNews) - During early European deals on Wednesday, the euro and the pound declined against their US and Japanese counterparts on the back of a slide in regional stocks.
European stocks opened lower today amid ongoing talks between the Greek Finance Ministry and international creditors. Investors are also anxious about the outcome of the monetary policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.
Germany's DAX is now down by 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index is losing 0.4 percent and U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is falling by 0.2 percent.
The Greek Finance Ministry has reportedly said that the conference call with the inspectors of the austerity deal has been "satisfactory" so far. A call between the country and the international lenders - the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank - is in progress to reach an agreement over the next bailout tranche for the debt-ridden country.
The pound is now worth 1.5690 against the dollar, down from yesterday's close of 1.5736. The near term support level for the U.K. currency is seen at 1.568.
Against the yen, the pound is trading at a 2-day low of 119.75, compared to yesterday's close of 120.29. On the downside, 119.5 is seen as the next target level for the pound.
Confidence among British consumers hit a four-month low in August, as households' assessment of the economic prospects worsened amid deteriorating global economic conditions and tight fiscal policy, reports said early in the day citing a consumer survey by the Nationwide Building Society. The consumer confidence index dipped to 48 in August from 49 in July, although the decline was less than expected.
The euro is worth 104.30 against the yen and 1.3670 against the dollar. If the euro weakens further, it may likely target 104.0 against the yen and 1.360 against the dollar. The euro-yen and the euro-dollar pairs were worth 104.78 and 1.3709, respectively at yesterday's close.
Looking ahead, the Bank of England is due to release the minutes of its September 7-8 monetary policy meeting at 4:30 am ET. At the meeting, the bank decided to keep rates on hold at 0.5 percent.
The U.K. public sector net borrowing figures for the month of August is also due at 4:30 am ET.
The U.S. existing home sales and Canada's CPI - both for August are expected to influence trading in the North American session.
At 2:15 pm ET, the Federal Open Market Committee is due to announce its interest rate decision.
