- Investors await Fed policy statement at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT)
- Mexican peso rebounds after losses tied to major earthquake
- Kiwi jumps as poll shows National Party leads before election
(Updates market action, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
The dollar edged lower on Wednesday, as investors waited to see whether the Federal Reserve would signal it may raise interest rates again later this year even as inflation has remained below its 2 percent goal.
The U.S. central bank is expected to release its latest policy statement at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) after a two-day meeting where investors expected policymakers would decide to embark on a reduction of the Fed's $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October.
Fed officials for weeks have signaled a move to shrink the U.S. central bank's holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.
"It's not going to be so significant for the dollar at this stage," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.
What will drive the greenback in coming weeks will be the Fed's confidence on whether inflation would reach its 2 percent target and how many further rate increases it expects to carry out.
The recent deadly hurricanes that caused catastrophic damage in two southern U.S. states might force the Fed to postpone a rate increase until next year, analysts said.
"The impact of the hurricanes may delay an increase so that's a risk," Osborne said.
The index that measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies was 0.07 percent lower at 91.732 and not far from the 2-1/2-year low struck on Sept. 8. .DXY
The index has slid more than 11 percent this year, as expectations for pro-growth, pro-inflation policies from U.S. President Donald Trump have diminished, complicating the Fed's monetary policy path.
The futures market implied traders saw a 57 percent chance of a December rate increase FFZ7 FFF8 , little changed from on Tuesday, CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 gained 0.8 percent at $0.7378 after reaching its highest level in 6-1/2 weeks as one poll showed the country's National Party pulled ahead of the rival Labour Party ahead of a general election this weekend.
Support for the National Party jumped 6 points to 46 percent, according to the One News-Colmar Brunton opinion poll, while support for the opposition Labour party slumped by seven points to 37 percent.
Among emerging market currencies, the Mexican peso MXN=D2 recovered from Tuesday's losses spurred by a second deadly earthquake that struck the country in two weeks.
The Mexican currency was last up 0.5 percent at 17.71 peso per dollar MXN=D2 following a 0.2 percent decline on Tuesday.
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Currency bid prices at 10:41AM (1441 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1999 $1.1992 +0.06% +14.13% +1.2020 +1.1987
Dollar/Yen JPY= 111.4400 111.5800 -0.13% -4.65% +111.6400 +111.2400
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 133.71 133.82 -0.08% +8.58% +134.0100 +133.5100
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9625 0.9625 +0.00% -5.43% +0.9634 +0.9596
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3567 1.3507 +0.44% +9.98% +1.3607 +1.3497
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.2256 1.2288 -0.26% -8.74% +1.2300 +1.2235
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.8064 0.8009 +0.69% +11.77% +0.8071 +0.8000
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1547 1.1543 +0.03% +7.74% +1.1557 +1.1523 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8842 0.8877 -0.39% +3.80% +0.8888 +0.8827 NZ NZD= 0.7385 0.7317 +0.93% +6.40% +0.7388 +0.7304 Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 7.7874 7.7982 -0.14% -9.84% +7.8122 +7.7746
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.3445 9.3532 -0.09% +2.85% +9.3705 +9.3328
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 7.9408 7.9503 -0.08% -12.81% +7.9605 +7.9327
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 9.5281 9.5356 -0.08% -0.54% +9.5455 +9.5242
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The dollar index's decline (YTD) http://reut.rs/2xPcIuM
Kiwi-dollar jumps on election poll http://reut.rs/2xRlPvc World FX rates in 2017 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
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