Damn! USD Falls Again Before FOMC Minutes

<p>&nbsp;The US dollar retreated from its European session highs as the market now focused on the release of the FOMC meeting minutes report.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the time of writing, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of major currencies, was trading lower at 103.00.</p><p><br /></p><p>Following the stance of the Federal Reserve (Fed) which was seen as hawkish at the last meeting, the market will further scrutinize the minute report that will be released early this morning (Thursday 2.00 am) for a clearer indication of the central bank's direction.</p><p><br /></p><p>The depreciation of the greenback has provided support for major currencies to rise, especially the pound which was also supported by UK inflation data.</p><p><br /></p><p>The UK consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8% year-on-year in July, down from 7.9% recorded in June.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite the decline, core inflation is seen to remain high with an unchanged record of 6.9% compared to the previous month, which indicates that the central bank will raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, the euro also showed an increase but in a small range with prices trading at around 1.0930 against the greenback.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also seeing gains were the Aussie and New Zealand dollars, which bounced back from their weakest levels since November.</p><p><br /></p><p>The central bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) met market expectations to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.50% during its policy meeting in the Asian session.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar rose slightly after touching a fresh 2-month low against the greenback amid weaker crude oil trading.</p><p><br /></p><p>The yen continues to be stuck at its weakest level since November compared to the greenback at around 145.50.</p>