Investing.com - The dollar held steady against other major currencies on Wednesday, after the release of weak U.S. housing sector data, as investors were still eyeing the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting due later in the day.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1188, off Tuesday’s six-month high of 1.1268.
The U.S. National Association of Realtors said existing home sales decreased 2.3% to 5.57 million units last month from 5.70 million in March. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall 1.1% to 5.65 million units in April.
Investors were eyeing the minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy meeting, due later in the day, with hopes of further indications on the pace of future rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar broadly weakened recently following a string of revelations surrounding the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in November’s U.S. presidential election and reports that Donald Trump attempted to interfere with the judicial process.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD held steady at 1.2959.
Investors were also still digesting the Manchester terrorist attack that killed 22 people on Monday evening.
USD/JPY added 0.17% to 111.98, while USD/CHF was almost unchanged at 0.9757.
The Australian dollar moved lower, with AUD/USD down 0.29% at 0.7457, while NZD/USD held steady at 0.7012.
Also Wednesday, Moody’s downgraded China’s credit rating for the first time in almost three decades.
Moody’s warned that China’s financial strength is likely to deteriorate in the coming years, as its economy slows and its national debt keeps rising.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD dropped 0.44% to trade at a one-month low of 1.3452 after the Bank of Canada kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.50%, in a widely expected move.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 97.23.