U.S. Dollar Weakens After Release Of Fed Minutes

The U.S. dollar weakened against its major rivals on Wednesday, turning negative against both the yen and the euro after the Federal Reserve said there was considerable uncertainty surrounding fiscal policy, something investors have been looking to boost the dollar and stoke inflation. The U.S. dollar index fell slightly on the day, after having risen by about 0.2%. The comments, which were released as part of minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting, said that uncertainty over the Trump administration's fiscal policies were a major stumbling block. The minutes also revealed that "many" Fed officials had expressed support in raising interest rates "fairly soon," adding to the growing consensus that a rate hike could be announced at the March meeting, something that had been considered unlikely a few weeks ago. Among specific currencies, the dollar fell 0.4% against the yen, erasing an early advance. The euro traded at $1.0567 from $1.0546 late Tuesday, a gain of 0.2%. It had previously dropped by roughly the same amount.