WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Dollar drifted lower against its major counterparts on Tuesday amid uncertainty about the outcome of the U.S. Presidential Election, and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.
The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of future rate cuts.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector activity unexpectedly grew at an accelerated rate in the month of October.
The ISM said its services PMI rose to 56.0 in October from 54.9 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected the index to dip to 53.8.
With the unexpected increase, the ISM's services PMI reached its highest level since hitting 56.4 in July 2022.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial increase in the size of the U.S. trade deficit in the month of September, as imports surged and exports slumped.
The dollar index, which dropped to a low of 103.37, was at 103.45 a little while ago, down 0.42% from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to 1.0927 from 1.0879, and against Pound Sterling, it was down nearly 0.6% at 1.3032.
The dollar dropped against the Japanese currency, easing to 151.57 yen a unit. Against the Aussie, the dollar slid to 0.6638 against the Aussie from 0.6586.
The Swiss franc firmed marginally to CHF 0.8632 a dollar, while the Loonie strengthened to 1.3837 a unit of the U.S. currency.
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