By: Barbara Zigah
The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States concluded its policy meetings yesterday, and investors took their less-than-glowing report of the health of the U.S. economy as an indication that there is still a long way to go. A representative of the Federal Reserve commented that the pace of the U.S. Treasury buying program would be slowed down in order to extend the duration, but it would remain at the $300 billion level. Interest rates would also remain at an unprecedented low of near zero for an extended period of time, quashing speculation by some traders that the Fed would soon be raising interest rates. A recent Reuters poll indicated that 7 out of 11 major banks believed a rate hike wouldn’t be forthcoming until after the second quarter of 2010.
As a result of the Fed’s position, as reported at 3:02 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar slipped broadly in Asian trading today. Versus the Japanese Yen, the U.S. Dollar traded at 96.08 Yen, slightly above last week’s low of 97.79 Yen touched on last week. Against the Euro, the greenback edged up to $1.4227, a .3% gain from Wednesday’s late trading in the U.S. Other high yield currencies, including the New Zealand and Australian Dollars also rose against the U.S. Dollar; the NZD traded at $0.6736, a .3% gain, while the AUD traded at $0.836, also a .3% increase.
Dollar Slips after Federal Reserve Meeting
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.