Investing.com - The euro held near one-week highs against the dollar on Wednesday after investors avoided the greenback ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates and monetary policy due out later in the session.
While the U.S. central bank is seen closing its monthly bond-buying program, uncertainty as to whether or not the statement will hint at when benchmark interest rates will rise steered investors away from the dollar ahead of time.
In U.S. trading, EUR/USD was up 0.22% at 1.2763, up from a session low of 1.2724 and off a high of 1.2770.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2612, last Thursday's low, and resistance at 1.2840, last Tuesday's high.
Many investors were betting that the Federal Reserve will announce later plans to close its bond-buying program, which stands at $15 billion in Treasury and mortgage debt purchased each month.
The quantitative easing program aims to spur recovery by suppressing long-term borrowing costs with the hope companies raise capital to invest and hire, weakening the dollar as a side effect.
An end to quantitative easing has largely been priced into trading, though weeks of hit-or-miss data have many investors uncertain as to when the Fed will hike is fed funds rate in 2015.
By Wednesday trading, many were expecting the U.S. central bank to reassure markets that interest rates will remain on hold for some time to come to make sure cooling European and Chinese economies don't drag on U.S. recovery.
Tuesday's data weighed on the dollar as well.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported 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 products designed to last at three years and include trains, planes and automobiles.
Core durable goods orders, which are stripped of volatile transportation items and include components such as household appliances, eased down by 0.2% in September, defying forecasts for a 0.5% gain. Core durable goods orders rose by 0.7% in August.
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, fell by 1.7% last month, worse than expectations for a 0.6% increase and after rising 0.3% in August.
Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, declined 0.2% in September, disappointing forecasts for a 0.7% gain, after rising 0.1% in the preceding month.
Elsewhere, the euro was up against the pound, with EUR/GBP up 0.11% at 0.7904, and up against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.10% at 137.88.
On Thursday, in the euro zone, Germany is to produce preliminary data on the consumer price index, which accounts for the majority of overall inflation. The country is also to release a report on the change in the number of people unemployed.
Elsewhere in the euro area, Spain is to release preliminary data on consumer inflation and third quarter GDP.
The U.S. is to publish revised data on third quarter GDP, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims. Later in the day, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to speak at an event in Washington; her comments will be closely watched.