Dollar on the back foot as U.S. election jitters jangle nerves
The dollar was on the back foot against the euro and yen on Wednesday as the possibility the U.S. presidential election could be too close to call jangled investor nerves.
The greenback slumped to a three-week low against the euro and lost ground versus the yen overnight, as some polls showed Republican Donald Trump ahead after the FBI said it was probing newly-found emails related to Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of a private server.
The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, fell about 0.8 percent to a nearly two-week low of 97.640. The index had gained 3.1 percent in October to mark its strongest month in just under a year.
While vote preferences have held essentially steady, she’s now a slim point behind Donald Trump — a first since May — in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.
In the latest results, 46 percent of likely voters support Trump, and 45 percent are for Clinton. With the data taken to a decimal place for illustrative purposes, a mere 0.7 of a percentage point divides them.
Fed to hold rates steady, put December hike firmly in view
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but set the stage for a hike in December amid signs the economy is picking up steam.
The central bank has grown increasingly confident about raising rates and Chair Janet Yellen said in September that a move before the end of the year was likely should employment and inflation continue to strengthen.
Data since then has shown payrolls still growing solidly while consumer prices are showing some signs of ticking higher, putting both employment and inflation close to the Fed's long-run estimates. Growth too has improved, with the economy accelerating at a 2.9 percent annual pace in the third quarter after a fairly sluggish first half.
Investors have all but ruled out a move at this week's meeting given it takes place only a week before the U.S. presidential election. A number of Fed officials have recently said a December rate hike would be preferable.
Oil prices fall for fourth day after stockpile build
Crude oil prices fell for a fourth day on Wednesday, with jittery investors awaiting official U.S. stockpile figures later in the day after less comprehensive industry data showed a surprise build in inventories.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said crude stockpiles increased by 9.3 million barrels in the week to Oct. 28, more than nine times the amount expected by analysts polled by Reuters. [API/S]
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was down 28 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $46.39 by 0014 GMT. On Tuesday it fell 19 cents to $46.67.
Reference:Reuters, ABC News
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