Ahead of FOMC today, U.S. Dollar Index slips in London

By: Barbara Zigah

The greenback slipped in early London trading as cautious investors speculate that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee may see the need for additional easing of monetary flows in the United States. While the majority of investors don’t expect to see actual changes to the Fed’s current policy, they believe that the physical evidence which proves that the American economy is faltering will be enough to spark debate on the issue, which analysts believe would be sufficient enough to keep the greenback on its downward path. 

As reported at 7:56 a.m. (GMT) in London, the U.S. Dollar Index, which is a measure of the currency’s value versus a basket of other major currencies, slipped to 81.186 .DXY, a decline of .2% and approaching the 5-week low struck last week.

The common currency Euro, meanwhile, traded higher against the U.S. Dollar, trading at $1.3089, a gain of .2% and slightly off the 5-week peak of $1.3160 struck last Friday. The Australian Dollar also held close to a 2-year peak versus the greenback, which was struck on Monday when it reached $0.9495; this followed commentary by Reserve Bank of Australia officials suggesting that an interest rate hike was imminent.

Barbara Zigah

After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.