Investing.com - The dollar was holding close to seven-week lows against the euro on Wednesday after some more downbeat U.S. economic data, as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting later in the trading day.
EUR/USD hit 1.3772, the highest since January 2 and was down 0.05% to 1.3750.
The dollar weakened after data on Tuesday showed that the Empire State manufacturing index fell more-than-expected in February as new orders dropped.
A separate report showed foreign investors sold almost $120 billion of U.S. assets in December.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Fed’s most recent meeting later Wednesday, when the bank voted to cut its stimulus program by another $10 billion to $65 billion per month.
Earlier this month Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the central bank is on track to maintain the pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.31% to 102.03. The pair rose to two-week highs of 102.73 on Monday after the Bank of Japan extended a bank lending scheme in an attempt to boost the effectiveness of its monetary stimulus program.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD dipped 0.09% to 1.6668, down from highs of 1.6734.
Sterling slid after official data showed that the U.K. unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 7.2% in the three months to December from 7.1% in the previous three months.
The data added to the view that the Bank of England is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time to come.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. declined to by 27,600 last month, to 1.22 million.
The dollar edged higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching up 0.07% to 0.8885.
The Australian dollar edged higher, with AUD/USD rising 0.12% to 0.9038, while NZD/USD was up 0.35% to 0.8336.
Australia's dollar remain supported after the Conference Board reported that its leading index for Australia rose 0.8% in December, after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
A separate report showed that Australia's wage price index rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter, slightly above expectations for a 0.6% rise, after a 0.5% increase in the three months to September.
The U.S. dollar was lower against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD down 0.24% to 1.0922.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.01% to 80.05, an almost nine week low.
