Dollar lower vs. yen ahead of Fed, BoE minutes lift pound

The dollar slipped lower against the yen on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s much anticipated policy decision later in the day, while the pound was boosted higher following the release of the Bank of England’s September meeting minutes.

During European late morning trade, the dollar was close to session lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.27% to 99.85.

Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, due to conclude later Wednesday, amid expectations that the bank would announce plans to start reducing its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.

The dollar remained under pressure after a recent series of soft economic data, including the latest U.S. jobs report, saw investors reassess expectations over how much the Fed will cut its stimulus program.

The pound hit fresh eight-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USDadvancing 0.37% to 1.5962 after the latest BoE minutes showed that no policymakers believed more stimulus is necessary at present.

Policymakers voted unanimously in favor of keeping the benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.5% and the size of the bank’s asset purchase facility unchanged at GBP375 billion.

The minutes showed that policymakers believe the economic recovery in the U.K. is taking hold and outlined signs of a recovery in the euro zone.

The central bank also reiterated its forward guidance that it will not automatically raise interest rates when the U.K. unemployment rate falls below 7%.

Elsewhere, the euro inched lower against the dollar, with EUR/USDdipping 0.06% to 1.3350.

The single currency continued to be supported after data released on Tuesday showed that the closely watched ZEW index of German economic sentiment rose to the highest level since April 2010 in September, on the back of the improved economic outlook for the euro zone.

The dollar was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHFinching up 0.01% to 0.9260.

Elsewhere, the greenback was rangebound against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.04% to 0.9358, NZD/USD slipping 0.15% to 0.8225 and USD/CAD inching up 0.04% to 1.0300.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged down 0.05% to 81.26. 

The U.S. was to release data on building permits and housing starts later Wednesday, ahead of the Fed policy announcement.