The US dollar fell against most of the major currencies on Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve said it was ready to take further action to boost the U.S. economy and fend off any deflationary threats. As a result, the dollar fell to its lowest level versus the yen since Japan intervened last week and closed around 84.50. The dollar experienced similar behavior against the EUR to trade at session highs above 1.3400.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-making open market committee on Tuesday set the tone after it said it was prepared to take new stimulus measures if necessary. While the Fed left interest rates at record lows, it suggested further credit easing in a statement. Those measures would likely include buying treasury bonds, causing the market to brace for further dollar losses. The Fed comments will likely keep the dollar weak in the near-term, as the bank's stance is expected to keep downward pressure on U.S. interest rates, analysts said.
Today's Unemployment Claims and Existing Home Sales releases are expected to have a strong impact on the US currency. Any result could be a surprise, and the dollar could go either way as a result. In any case, traders are unsure how the market will react to today's data. A weak report could feed risk aversion, boost Treasuries and actually aid the US dollar. Then again, a better than expected result might be seen as a sign of relative US economic strength, and lift the dollar. Or it could also encourage risk-taking and aid commodities and higher-yielding currencies at the dollar's expense.
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