Forexpros — The U.S. dollar edged lower against most of its major counterparts on Wednesday, as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy setting meeting added to speculation that the central bank will soon act to prop up shaky U.S. growth.
During European morning trade, the greenback was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.01% to hit 1.4438.
The minutes of the Fed’s August policy-setting meeting, released Tuesday, showed that some policymakers pushed for more aggressive measures to stimulate growth, including buying more government bonds.
The greenback was slightly higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.16% to hit 1.6272.
In the U.K., a report released earlier showed that consumer confidence fell to a four-month low in August as the outlook for the economy over the next 12 months deteriorated.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.13% to hit 76.63 and USD/CHF tumbling 0.87% to hit 0.8128.
In Japan, preliminary data showed that industrial production rose less-than-expected in July, rising at the slowest pace since March, indicating that the post-earthquake rebound may be tapering out.
The greenback was also lower against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts but inched higher against its Australian cousin, with USD/CAD dipping 0.04% to hit 0.9777, NZD/USD rising 0.16% to hit 0.8545 and AUD/USD easing down 0.05% to hit 1.0676.
A report showed that although business confidence in New Zealand weakened in August, the outlook for the year ahead remained upbeat.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03% to hit 74.03.
Later in the day, payroll processing firm ADP was to release a report on U.S. non-farm payrolls. The U.S. was also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area and factory orders.
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