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US Dollar Mixed Early Wednesday Ahead of FOMC Announcement

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The US dollar was mixed against its major trading partners early Wednesday -- up versus the euro and pound, down versus the yen and Canadian dollar -- ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's rate decision at 2:00 pm ET and Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's press conference at 2:30 pm ET.

The CME's FedWatch tool currently shows a 64.2% chance of no change to the current 3.50%-3.75% target range for the federal funds rate, and a 35.8% chance of a 25 basis point rate increase to 3.75%-4.00%.

Before the FOMC's statement, weekly petroleum stocks data are due to be released at 10:30 am ET.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that an increase in mortgage rates trimmed both refinancing activity and home purchase applications in the week ended July 24.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Wednesday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1385 from 1.1388 at the Tuesday US close but was above a level of 1.1359 at the same time Tuesday morning. There are no Eurozone data on Wednesday's schedule. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for September 10.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3287 from 1.3289 at the Tuesday US close but was above a level of 1.3276 at the same time Tuesday morning. UK consumer credit rose in June, with mortgage lending up significantly from the previous month, data released earlier Tuesday showed. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Thursday, when no change in the policy rate is expected.

USD/JPY fell to 163.6808 from 163.8595 at the Tuesday US close and 163.9400 at the same time Tuesday morning. There were no Japanese data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting announcement is scheduled for Thursday evening US time, when no change in the policy rate is expected.

USD/CAD fell to 1.4098 from 1.4110 at the Tuesday US close and 1.4109 at the same time Tuesday morning. There are no Canadian data on Wednesday's schedule. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Sept. 2.

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