Forex – Dollar Falls to 2-Week Lows after Fed Meeting Minutes

Investing.com – The dollar fell to two-week lows against other major currencies on Thursday, amid fresh uncertainty over a potential U.S. rate hike before the end of the year and as investors eyed a bach of U.S. economic reports due later in the day.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that several policymakers believe additional tightening will depend on upcoming inflation data.

However, most Fed members said they still feel another rate increase this year “was likely to be warranted.”

Market participants were looking ahead to reports on U.S. jobless claims and producer price inflation due later in the day, as well as the highly-anticipated consumer price inflationdata set to be released on Friday.

EUR/USD was up 0.14% at 1.1875 by 02:20 a.m. ET (06:20 GMT), the highest since September 25, after Catalonia stopped short of formally declaring independence from Spain.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday proclaimed the region’s independence from Spain but said the effects would be postponed to allow for talks with the Spanish government, averting an immediate crisis.

Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.27% to trade at 1.3256, the highest since October 4.

Meanwhile, the yen was higher with USD/JPY down 0.20% at 112.26 following reports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party could keep its parliamentary majority at the October 22 snap election.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.14% at 92.66, its lowest since September 26.