The U.S. dollar ended nearly flat in late trading on Wednesday, as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes showed that officials differed on whether any additional interest rate increases would be needed.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.01 percent to 105.8195 in late trading.
The minutes released Wednesday showed that all members of the rate-setting FOMC agreed they could proceed carefully on future decisions, which would be based on incoming data rather than any preset path.
“A majority of participants judged that one more increase in the target federal funds rate at a future meeting would likely be appropriate, while some judged it likely that no further increases would be warranted,” the summary of the Sept. 19-20 policy meeting said.
The Fed also received some bad inflation news Wednesday, as the U.S. Labor Department said that the producer price index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 0.5 percent in September.
Excluding food and energy, the core PPI rose 0.3 percent, versus the forecast for 0.2 percent. Inflation pressures came primarily from final demand goods, which surged 0.9 percent, while services increased 0.3 percent.
While in the eurozone, the European Central Bank’s Consumer Expectation Survey, carried out in August and released on Wednesday, showed the median respondent thought inflation would be 2.5 percent in three years, up from 2.4 percent in the previous survey around a month earlier.
In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0608 U.S. dollars from 1.0598 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.2305 U.S. dollars from 1.2280 dollars.
The U.S. dollar bought 149.2340 Japanese yen, higher than 148.7260 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 0.9027 Swiss francs from 0.9049 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3600 Canadian dollars from 1.3588 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was up to 10.9135 Swedish krona from 10.8696 Swedish krona.
