ZCZC
BCN-30
US-FOREX
U.S. dollar little changed ahead of Fed decision
NEW YORK, July 31, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The U.S. dollar was little moved in
late trading on Tuesday as market participants are awaiting the Federal
Reserve’s decision on interest rates amid a slew of economic data.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was
up 0.01 percent to 98.0562 at 3:00 p.m. (1900 GMT).
The U.S. central bank kicked off its two-day monetary policy meeting on
Tuesday and will announce its decision on whether to adjust interest rates
Wednesday afternoon.
Investors are speculating that the Fed would cut interest rates this week
for the first time in more than a decade by 25 basis points.
On the data front, U.S. personal income increased 0.4 percent in June while
inflation remained below the target set by the Federal Reserve, the U.S.
Department of Commerce said on Tuesday.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), a measure of household spending,
were up 41 billion dollars in June, according to a monthly report released by
the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the department.
On a year-on-year basis, the core PCE price index, a preferred inflation
gauge by the Fed, which stripes out food and energy, was up 1.6 percent in
June, below the central bank’s target inflation rate of 2 percent.
In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1156 U.S. dollars from
1.1146 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to
1.2161 dollars from 1.2223 dollars in the previous session. The Australian
dollar was down to 0.6874 dollar from 0.6901 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 108.60 Japanese yen, lower than 108.80 Japanese yen
of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 0.9902 Swiss franc from
0.9915 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.3152 Canadian dollars from 1.3162
Canadian dollars.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1350