US dollar slips on Fed statement

The US dollar declined against most major peers on Wednesday as investors were digesting the newly-released Federal Reserve statement.

In late New York trading on Wednesday, the euro rose to $1.1321 from $1.1289 in the previous session, and the British pound increased to $1.4553 from $1.4579 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar inched down to $0.7597 from $0.7740.

The US dollar bought 111.52 Japanese yen, higher than 111.33 yen of the previous session. The U. dollar fell to 0.9715 Swiss franc from 0.9742 Swiss franc, and it fell to 1.2606 Canadian dollars from 1.2621 Canadian dollars. Enditem

The Fed left the benchmark interest rate unchanged this time but signalled a possible rate-hike in its June meeting, according to the statement released on Wednesday after a two-day monetary policy meeting.

The US central bank also downplayed recent weakness in the country's economy, saying "labor market conditions have improved further even as growth in economic activity appears to have slowed."

The uncertainty of rate-hike outlook still weighed on the greenback on Wednesday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.13 percent at 94.453 in late trading.

--IANS

pgh/