Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained lower against other major currencies on Wednesday, as investors were cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's monthly policy decision due later in the day.
The Fed is widely expected to raise rates by a quarter point at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting later Wednesday, but investors will mostly be focusing on any indications as to the pace of monetary policy tightening for the remainder of the year.
Investors were also cautious amid ongoing fears of a potential trade war. The White House is expected to unveil up to $60 billion in new tariffs on Chinese imports by Friday, targeting technology, telecommunications and intellectual property.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.30% at 89.74 by 06:15 a.m. ET (10:15 GMT).
The euro and the pound were higher, with EUR/USD up 0.28% at 1.2273 and with GBP/USD gaining 0.49% to trade at 1.4067.
Sterling was boosted by data on Wednesday showing that UK wage growth approached a two-and-a-half year high over the three months to January.
The yen and the Swiss franc were also stronger, with USD/JPY shedding 0.22% to 106.30 and with USD/CHF falling 0.26% to 0.9538.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7688 and with NZD/USD slipping 0.18% to 0.7169.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged 0.19% lower to 1.3047.