Forex - Dollar gains against yen in early Asia as all eyes on Fed meet

Investing.com - The dollar gained against the yen early Wednesday in Asia with the Australian dollar flat and all eyes on the upcoming Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement.

USD/JPY traded at 108.11, down 0.05%, while AUD/USD changed hands at 0.8856, flat. EUR/USD traded at 1.2735, also flat.

The FOMC decision the key event risk for the market on Wednesday with many investors on the sidelines.

The Fed is widely seen closing its bond-buying program, though uncertainty as to whether or not the statement will contain dovish or hawkish language surrounding interest rates prompted investors to avoid the greenback ahead of time.

Up ahead, Japan's September preliminary industrial output data is due at at 0850 Tokyo The forecast is for a 2.2% gain on month, which would be the first rise in two months.

Overnight, the dollar traded lower against most major currencies due to soft durable goods orders, though an upbeat consumer confidence report brought the U.S. currency up from earlier lows.

The dollar overnight slipped after data revealed that that U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, anything from toasters to airplanes, fell unexpectedly for a second consecutive month in September.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported earlier that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, decreased by 1.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.5%.

Orders for durable goods in August were revised to a decline of 18.3% from a previously reported drop of 18.4%.

Durable goods are typically designed to last at three years and include trains, planes and automobiles.

Elsewhere, the Conference Board reported earlier that its consumer confidence index jumped to 94.5 this month from 89.0 in September, boosted by a more favorable assessment of the current job market and business conditions.

Economists had expected the index to tick down to 87.0 this month.

The report left many investors concluding that while demand for goods and services in the U.S. remains cautious, consumers still remain upbeat over the U.S. economy and will ramp up spending soon.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.01% at 85.48.