(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar slipped against other major currencies in the European session on Wednesday as traders await the minutes of the June Federal Open Market Committee due later in the day.
The U.S. Fed is due to release the minutes of its June 19-20 meeting at 2:00 pm ET. At the meeting, the Fed extended its 'Operation Twist' programme, with out going in for a full fledged quantitative easing.
The central bank also kept its benchmark interest rate effectively at zero, and repeated its view that economic slack will probably warrant "exceptionally low" interest rates through at least late 2014.
On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings affirmed the US long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings and U.S. Treasury security ratings at 'AAA.' However, outlook on the long-term rating remains negative.
The agency attributed its decision to maintain the 'AAA' rating on the diversified and wealthy economy of the U.S., but noted the government's lack of an agreement on debt reduction prompted it to maintain the negative outlook.
The greenback declined to 1.0249 against the Australian dollar, its lowest level since July 6. If the greenback weakens further, it may target the 1.03 level. The aussie-greenback pair closed yesterday's trading at 1.0194.
In economic news, confidence among Australian consumers improved to a five-month high in July as the central bank's 125 basis point reduction in interest rate since November last year started to show some impact on households' expectations on personal finances and the country's economic prospects.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment increased 3.7 percent month-on-month in July. The index moved up to 99.1 from 95.6 in June.
Against the Canadian and NZ currencies, the greenback fell to as low as 1.0195 and 0.7986 from yesterday's closing value of 1.0228 and 0.7942, respectively. On the downside, the greenback may target 1.015 against the loonie and 0.80 against the kiwi.
The dollar fell to 0.9769 against the franc and 1.2298 against the euro, with 0.97 and 1.235 seen as the next downside target levels, respectively. At yesterday's close, the dollar-franc and the euro-greenback pairs were worth 0.9806 and 1.2251, respectively.
In economic news from Europe, Germany's EU harmonized consumer prices increased 2 percent on an annual basis in June, in line with the preliminary estimates. The growth rate, however, eased from May's 2.2 percent.
Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar slipped to 79.23, and the next downside target level for the greenback is likely seen at 79.00. The greenback-yen pair closed Tuesday's New York trading at 79.44.
(RTTNews) - The greenback slipped to a 6-day low of 1.5565 against the pound compared to the 1.5521 it hit late New York Tuesday. On the downside, 1.56 is seen as the next target level for the greenback.
The latest monthly GDP estimates released by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) showed that the British economy remained broadly flat in the June quarter, continuing a trend that has persisted for around 24 months.
The estimates showed today that the economic output declined 0.2 percent in the three months ended June after rising 0.1 percent in the three months ended May. However, these data are distorted by the additional bank holiday for the Diamond Jubilee.
Looking ahead, the U.S. trade data, wholesale inventories and Canadian trade data - all for May are also scheduled for release in the early New York session.
