Dollar remains broadly higher, Fed statement ahead

Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as investors eyed the outcome of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting, with the bank expected to stick to its pledge to be patient on tightening monetary policy.

EUR/USD declined 0.46% to 1.1327, as sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable in the wake of a sweeping election victory for the anti-austerity Syriza party in Greece.

Markets were still jittery amid concerns over Syriza’s pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion international bailout, which could cause the country to leave the euro zone.

Earlier Wednesday, the German research institute, Gfk said its Consumer Climate Index rose to 9.3 this month, above forecasts for 9.2 and up from a reading of 9.0 in December.

The pound was almost unchanged against the dollar, with GBP/USD at 1.5182, while USD/JPY held steady at 117.75.

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc regained ground against the euro, as it recovered from speculation on Tuesday that the Swiss National Bank was intervening in the market to weaken the currency.

EUR/CHF slid 0.32% to 1.0241 after rising as high as 1.0382 on Tuesday, while USD/CHF rose 0.13% to 0.9043.

In an interview on Tuesday, SNB Vice President Jean-Pierre Danthine said the bank was still "fundamentally prepared" to intervene in currency markets. "The minimum exchange rate couldn’t have been maintained anymore" with the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing program, he added.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained moderately higher, with AUD/USD up 0.25% to 0.7956 and NZD/USD was steady at 0.7455, holding just above Monday's three-year low of 0.7398.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in the last quarter, below expectations for a 0.3% gain, after an increase of 0.5% in the three months to September.

Year-on-year, Australian CPI increased by 1.7% in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a 1.8% rise and down from a 2.3% gain in the third quarter of 2014.

The report also showed that Australia's trimmed mean consumer price inflation, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a 0.4% uptick in the previous quarter.

The Canadian dollar re-approached Tuesday's fresh six-year lows, with USD/CAD up 0.40% to 1.2446.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.35% at 94.59, not far from Friday’s more than 11-year highs of 95.77.