- Euro recovers from last week's weakness, up 0.5 pct
- Dollar falls from 18-month high before two-day Fed meeting
- Yen and Swiss franc rise as risk sentiment sours
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Adds comment, FX table, updates prices, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
The dollar fell to a one-week low on Tuesday as investors unwound long bets on the currency, anticipating the Federal Reserve could slow the pace of U.S. interest rate hikes after this week's policymaking meeting.
The greenback weakened for a second straight session. A rout on Wall Street on Monday, recent mixed U.S. and global economic data, and persistent market volatility have bolstered a view that the Fed's widely expected rate hike on Wednesday could mark the end of three years of steady rate increases.
U.S. President Donald Trump's critical comments on the Fed did not help the dollar's cause either. In a tweet overnight, Trump took another swipe at the Fed, saying it was "incredible" for the central bank to even consider tightening policy given the global economic and political uncertainties.
"While (the Fed) remaining on hold would be a significant surprise and a significant U.S. dollar-negative, there is little doubt that equity market volatility is creating some headaches for policymakers," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist, at Scotiabank in Toronto.
Osborne noted that Fed rate hike expectations have slipped, with markets now pricing in a 70 percent chance of a rate increase, down from a 78 percent chance on Monday.
"That is quite a significant move right ahead of the policy decision," he said.
Investor confidence has deteriorated, leading to the gloomiest outlook for the world economy in a decade, a survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found.
The dollar has replaced technology stocks as the most crowded trade for the first time since January, it said.
In mid-morning trading, the dollar index fell 0.1 percent lower at 96.975, after earlier sliding to its weakest since Dec 10.
Some analysts think dollar strength will return if the Fed remains confident about next year's monetary policy tightening path.
"Personally, I think the Fed will continue to normalize policy next year and I don't think it will send the U.S. economy into recession," said ACLS analyst Marshall Gittler.
Risk-off sentiment on Tuesday lifted the Japanese yen JPY= and Swiss franc CHF= .
With the prospect of a "dovish rate hike" keeping the dollar in check, the euro EUR= on Tuesday rose 0.2 percent to $1.1368. It has recovered all of its losses from Monday when it was hit by weak euro zone data.
Still, the European Central Bank's assessment last week that the balance of risks was moving to the downside, combined with protests in France weighing on business, means euro appreciation is still a few months away, Goldman Sachs analysts said.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:57AM (1457 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1370 $1.1346 +0.21% -5.22% +1.1402 +1.1337 Dollar/Yen JPY= 112.5400 112.8200 -0.25% -0.12% +112.8600 +112.2600 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 127.95 128.02 -0.05% -5.35% +128.1100 +127.6500 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9920 0.9928 -0.08% +1.82% +0.9936 +0.9900 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2643 1.2625 +0.14% -6.43% +1.2705 +1.2610 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3416 1.3403 +0.10% +6.67% +1.3429 +1.3390 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7197 0.7172 +0.35% -7.73% +0.7203 +0.7173 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1279 1.1266 +0.12% -3.51% +1.1296 +1.1261 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8992 0.8993 -0.01% +1.22% +0.9010 +0.8963 NZ NZD= 0.6859 0.6799 +0.88% -3.20% +0.6879 +0.6803 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 8.6948 8.6454 +0.57% +5.94% +8.7099 +8.6343 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8866 9.8149 +0.73% +0.39% +9.9021 +9.8072 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.0348 9.0571 -0.06% +10.16% +9.0881 +9.0257 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.2737 10.2796 -0.06% +4.42% +10.3060 +10.2650
