Dollar mixed as traders eye Fed meeting

The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major rivals during Monday’s Asian session as traders await the start of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday.

In Asian trading Monday, EUR/USD rose 0.05% to 1.3812. Last week, the pair gained nearly 1%. Last Monday, the U.S. is to produce reports on industrial production and the capacity utilization rate, as well as private sector data on pending home sales.

USD/JPY added 0.14% to 97.54 after that pair lost 0.82% last week. In addition to the Fed meeting, which concludes Wednesday, Thursday’s monetary policy statement by the Bank of Japan will also be closely watched.

GBP/USD gained 0.09% to 1.6183. That pair rose 0.22% last week. Wednesday’s minutes of the BoE’s October meeting said the U.K. unemployment rate appears to be falling at a faster than expected rate as the "robust" recovery gains traction.

In U.S. economic news out Friday, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 3.7% last month, beating expectations for a 2.3% gain. The August reading was revise up to 0.2% growth from 0.1%. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.1% against expectations of a 0.5% rise.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 73.2 in October from 77.5 in September. That is the lowest reading since December 2012. Economists expected an October reading of 75.

USD/CHF inched down 0.02% to 0.8925 while USD/CAD fell 0.11% to 1.0442. It is widely expected no announcement regarding tapering of the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month bond-buying effort will be made at this meeting.

AUD/USD advanced 0.23% to 0.9607. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens is scheduled to speak on Tuesday.

NZD/USD rose 0.24% to 0.8300. Markets in New Zealand are closed Monday for a public holiday. The U.S. Dollar Index inched down 0.04% to 79.23.