Investing.com - The Aussie fell sharply on Wednesday after a slower pace of consumer prices than expected ahead of the latest Federal Reserve views on interest rates.
AUD/USD fell 0.93% to 0.7123, after the data, while USD/JPY changed hands at 120.44, down 0.01%, after disappointing retail sales.
In Australia, consumer prices for the third quarter rose 0.5%, against a gain of 0.6% expected quarter-on-quarter and an annual pace of 1.5%, compared to 1.7% seen.
In Japan, retail sales fell an unexpected 0.2% as retail fuel sales slumped, against a gain of 0.4% seen year-on-year for September for the first year-on-year drop in six months.
Investors were looking ahead to Wednesday’s monetary policy announcement by the Fed for fresh indications on the timing of an initial rate hike.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.05% to 97.08.
Overnight, the dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after the release of weak U.S. economic reports as investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence fell to 97.6 this month from a reading of 102.6 in September, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 103.0. Analysts expected the index to rise to 103.0 in October.
The report came after U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders decreased by 1.2% last month, matching forecasts. Orders for durable goods in August were revised to a drop of 3.0% from a previously reported decline of 2.3%.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, fell 0.4% in September, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%. Core durable goods orders slumped 0.9% in August.