(Recasts with Fed meeting, adds quote, updates prices)
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Karen Brettell
NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - The dollar fell on Wednesday
after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and
repeated a vow to do what it takes to shore up the economy that
has been battered by business shutdowns due to the novel
coronavirus.
"The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of
tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time,
thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability
goals," the central bank said in a statement at the end of a
two-day policy meeting. The dollar index against a basket of currencies =USD fell
0.32% to 99.544, but held above a two-week low of 99.44 reached
on Tuesday.
“They're certainly not wanting to upset the apple cart. They
went out of their way to say they're going to continue to do
what they're doing,” said Marvin Loh, senior global macro
strategist at State Street Global Markets.
The dollar has weakened more than 3% after scaling a more
than three-year peak of 102.99 in late March as global central
banks launched massive stimulus measures to protect economies
from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Fed's statement came after data earlier on Wednesday
showed that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product fell at
a 4.8% annualized rate in the January-to-March period after
expanding at a 2.1% rate in the final three months of
2019. The dollar reaction to the data was not “huge,” but “I think
it's going to pour cold water over hopes of a V-shape recovery.
And I think it also validates fears that second-quarter growth
could be in line with some of the more dire forecasts of a 40%
contraction,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western
Union Business Solutions in Washington.
The greenback also weakened on improving risk sentiment
after Gilead Sciences GILD.O said its experimental antiviral
drug remdesivir helped improve symptoms in COVID-19 patients who
were given the drug early. That added to optimism that businesses across the globe are
closer to reopening.
“We're seeing increasing chatter about economies opening up
around the world, so that would suggest that the global economic
reboots could happen sooner rather than later,” Manimbo said.
The Australian dollar AUD= , which is seen as a proxy for
global growth, jumped 0.83% to $0.6544. It earlier reached
$0.6551, the highest since March 10.
The euro EUR=EBS gained 0.51% to $1.0873 before a European
Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
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Currency bid prices at 3:21PM (1921 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.0873 $1.0818 +0.51% -3.01% +1.0885 +1.0819
Dollar/Yen JPY= 106.6000 106.8600 -0.24% -2.08% +106.8900 +106.3700
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 115.94 115.62 +0.28% -4.93% +116.0700 +115.4600
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9749 0.9750 -0.01% +0.73% +0.9767 +0.9714
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2454 1.2421 +0.27% -6.07% +1.2485 +1.2390
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3891 1.3993 -0.73% +6.97% +1.4003 +1.3885
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6544 0.6490 +0.83% -6.78% +0.6551 +0.6487
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0601 1.0549 +0.49% -2.31% +1.0609 +1.0548
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8728 0.8705 +0.26% +3.24% +0.8755 +0.8695
NZ NZD= 0.6127 0.6054 +1.21% -9.04% +0.6133 +0.6052
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 10.3345 10.3962 -0.59% +17.73% +10.4387 +10.3268
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 11.2384 11.2548 -0.15% +14.24% +11.2983 +11.2220
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.8497 9.8838 +0.13% +5.37% +9.9007 +9.8404
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.7117 10.6978 +0.13% +2.32% +10.7385 +10.6891
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Major Fx IMAGE https://tmsnrt.rs/2Si905D
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