Dollar Edged Up Ahead of Federal Reserve’s Meeting. The dollar index added 0.1 percent to 91.855, holding well above its more than 2-1/2 year low of 91.011 plumbed on Sept. 8. Analysts expect U.S. central bank policymakers to announce at the end of their two-day meeting later on Wednesday that they will trim its $4.2 trillion in bond holdings starting in October, and also leave the door open for an interest rate hike at their Dec. 12-13 meeting.
Strong Euro Driving a Rift Between ECB Policymakers. European Central Bank policymakers disagree on whether to set a definitive end-date for their money-printing program when they meet in October, raising the chance that they will keep open at least the option of prolonging it again. The euro was steady on the day, at $1.1990.
Yen Unmoved by Trump’s Fiery North Korea Rhetoric at the U.N. The yen tends to benefit during times of economic and political uncertainty, but it had a muted reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. This week the main factor for the yen is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is considering calling an election for as early as next month. The U.S. currency was steady on the day against its Japanese counterpart at 111.56 yen, moving back toward an eight-week peak of 111.88 yen scaled overnight.
Precious Metals Retained Their Lead. Gold and silver remained supported as several market watchers are still wary of geopolitical risks stemming from Trump’s latest batch of threats on North Korea. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, the U.S. President declared: “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Crude Oil Rises on Possible OPEC Cut Extension. Oil prices rose on Wednesday after Iraq’s oil minister said OPEC and other crude producers were considering extending or even deepening a supply cut to curb a global glut, while a report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. inventories. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents at USD 49.82, Brent crude futures were 24 cents higher at USD 55.38. OPEC and producers including Russia have agreed to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels per day until March 2018, when the agreement expires, in a bid to reduce global oil inventories and support prices.