The dollar fell versus the euro and the yen Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the Fed was committed to highly accommodative policies, while the bank's main interest rate will probably remain near zero for a considerable time after ending current stimulus program.
The greenback traded marginally lower against most major currencies on Tuesday as investors await the release of the minutes of the Fed's October policy meeting, and U.S. retail sales data for October, to assess the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
Bernanke said short-term interest rates may stay near zero even after the jobless rate falls below 6.5%, in the bank`s effort to assure markets that rates will remain low even after its signature bond-buying program ends.
Investors bet that the minutes of the Fed's October meeting due for release today will paint a similar picture for the need to hold off on scaling back stimulus tools for now.
The Commerce Department will release retail sales data later today with retail sales in the world's biggest economy is expected to have increased 0.1 percent in October after a 0.1 percent decline the previous month. A separate report is projected to show consumer prices stagnated in October from the previous month, after rising 0.2 percent in September.
The US Dollar Index went back and forth during the session on Wednesday, after initially gapping lower in the previous session. The USDIX index was up at 80.73 after opening at 80.69.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USDJPY pair falling to 99.970, and up against the Swiss franc, with USDCHF rising to 0.91102, reversing losses set during the week.
The dollar gained footing against Australia and New Zealand, with AUDUSD pair falling to 0.94044 and NZDUSD trading down at 0.83410.
Euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar after comments by the European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said yesterday policy makers must be "very careful" about using negative interest rates to counter slow inflation.
The euro declined on Wednesday to $ 1.35267, after opening at 1.35361. Earlier on Wednesday the EURUSD pair touched a high of $1.35773, it's highest since November 1.
The euro held steady against the yen at about 135.154 yen, having set a four-year high of 135.93 earlier, its highest level versus the Japanese currency since October 2009.
Pound steadied near three-week high against the U.S. dollar, after minutes from the Bank of England`s November policy meeting showed a unanimous vote to holding both interest rate and stimulus, as the economy shows strengthening recovery and inflation hovers near the BOE's upper limit.
GBPUSD rose to 1.61473 after opening at 1.61181. The pair hit an intraday high at 1.60616 after falling to a low of 1.59884.
The greenback traded marginally lower against most major currencies on Tuesday as investors await the release of the minutes of the Fed's October policy meeting, and U.S. retail sales data for October, to assess the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
Bernanke said short-term interest rates may stay near zero even after the jobless rate falls below 6.5%, in the bank`s effort to assure markets that rates will remain low even after its signature bond-buying program ends.
Investors bet that the minutes of the Fed's October meeting due for release today will paint a similar picture for the need to hold off on scaling back stimulus tools for now.
The Commerce Department will release retail sales data later today with retail sales in the world's biggest economy is expected to have increased 0.1 percent in October after a 0.1 percent decline the previous month. A separate report is projected to show consumer prices stagnated in October from the previous month, after rising 0.2 percent in September.
The US Dollar Index went back and forth during the session on Wednesday, after initially gapping lower in the previous session. The USDIX index was up at 80.73 after opening at 80.69.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USDJPY pair falling to 99.970, and up against the Swiss franc, with USDCHF rising to 0.91102, reversing losses set during the week.
The dollar gained footing against Australia and New Zealand, with AUDUSD pair falling to 0.94044 and NZDUSD trading down at 0.83410.
Euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar after comments by the European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said yesterday policy makers must be "very careful" about using negative interest rates to counter slow inflation.
The euro declined on Wednesday to $ 1.35267, after opening at 1.35361. Earlier on Wednesday the EURUSD pair touched a high of $1.35773, it's highest since November 1.
The euro held steady against the yen at about 135.154 yen, having set a four-year high of 135.93 earlier, its highest level versus the Japanese currency since October 2009.
Pound steadied near three-week high against the U.S. dollar, after minutes from the Bank of England`s November policy meeting showed a unanimous vote to holding both interest rate and stimulus, as the economy shows strengthening recovery and inflation hovers near the BOE's upper limit.
GBPUSD rose to 1.61473 after opening at 1.61181. The pair hit an intraday high at 1.60616 after falling to a low of 1.59884.
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