US dollar mixed on Fed statement

The US dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Wednesday as investors were digesting the newly-released Federal Reserve statement after its two-day policy meeting.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to $1.1009 from $1.0986 of the previous session, and the British pound rose to $1.3172 from $1.3143, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar went down to $0.7464 from $0.7507.

The dollar bought 105.64 Japanese yen, higher than 104.70 yen of the previous session. The dollar declined to 0.9915 Swiss francs from 0.9926 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.3216 Canadian dollars from 1.3202 Canadian dollars.

The US central bank left federal funds rate unchanged in Wednesday's statement, reiterating that it continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic developments.

"Near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished," the Fed said, adding that there was some increase in labor utilisation in recent months and household spending have grown "strongly".

Analysts said the Fed's overall description of the economy was upbeat, which might indicate that conditions are getting more favorable for further interest rate hikes in the future.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.04 per cent at 97.193 in late trading.

--IANS

pgh/