WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar stayed fairly steady on Wednesday as hopes for a steep cut in interest rate next month faded after recent comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard that a big reduction may not be warranted for now.
Speaking in New York on Tuesday, Powell remarked that the Fed is independent, insulated from short-term political pressures.
Powell resisted President Donald Trump's call to cut interest rates, saying that monetary policy should not overreact to any individual data point or short-term swing in sentiment.
The greenback's recovery from three-month lows was also due to mild optimism about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China after Treasury Secretary reportedly said the deal between the two countries is nearly complete.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 Summit.
The dollar index, which rose to 96.34, dropped to a low of 96.14 around noon, but recovered subsequently to 96.23, gaining about 0.1%.
Against the euro, the dollar swung between 1.1368 and 1.1392 and was last seen hovering around 1.1370, little changed from previous close.
The British pound sterling was down marginally at $1.2685, after swinging between gains and losses.
The Japanese yen traded notably lower against the greenback with a dollar fetching 107.80 yen, compared to 107.18 yen late Tuesday.
The dollar was down against the Aussie and Loonie, losing more than 0.3% against both currencies, at 0.6984 and 1.3125, respectively.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar gained 0.27% at 0.9781.
In economic news, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly showed another steep drop in the month of May, data released the Commerce Department showed.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders tumbled by 1.3% in May after plunging by a revised 2.8% in April.
Economists expected durable goods orders to rise by 0.2% compared to the 2.1% slump originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, excluding another nosedive in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.3% in May after edging down by 0.1% in April. Economists had expected a 0.1% uptick.
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