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NEW YORK - The dollar traded mostly higher Wednesday, regaining its footing a day after a Federal Reserve decision to keep interest rates at near-zero levels.
The euro fetched 1.3735 dollars in New York at 2200 GMT Wednesday, down from 1.3774 late Tuesday. It had climbed to 1.3818 dollars in early trading, its highest level since early February.
The dollar was also up at 90.33 yen from 90.28 Tuesday.
The euro initially climbed against the greenback as investors moved to the slightly higher yielding currency after the Fed maintained its benchmark rate at virtually zero percent but the single European unit fell back amid renewed concerns over the Greek debt crisis, analysts said.
The Fed's "insistence on maintaining a dovish stance knocked wind out of the dollar bulls who had been hoping for a move to a more neutral posture given the improvement in the US economy," said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading.
"However, it is now clear that the Fed will not even consider the possibility of tightening until it sees tangible proof of sustainable job growth, preferring for the time being to err on the side of caution," he said.
After a one-day meeting Tuesday, the Fed's policy body voted 9-1 to keep the federal funds rate -- at which banks charge each other for loans -- at a zero to 0.25 percent range.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) expected to hold the "exceptionally low" rate "for an extended period" -- reiterating its standard guidance since it slashed rates to record lows in December 2008 in a bid to jolt the world's largest economy from its worst recession in decades.
The euro came under pressure amid persistent market concerns over the lack of details from a EU plan to make emergency loans available to Greece -- if needed -- to shield the country from bankruptcy.
The absence of details prompted Greece to keep open the option of reaching out to the International Monetary Fund, and its mountain of debt remains a big concern, analysts said.
"Greece may have pulled itself clear of an imminent crisis but it still faces many tests ahead included the rolling over of around 20 billion euros worth of debt this spring," said Forex.com analyst Jane Foley.
US government data Wednesday showing US wholesale prices dropped sharply in February had little impact on the foreign exchange market.
The producer-price index for finished goods declined 0.6 percent, following a 1.4 percent advance in January and a 0.4 percent increase in December as well as rises in the previous two months, the Labor Department said.
Most economists had expected a 0.3 percent drop last month.
"The reaction to the softer than expected PPI report was muted, as the data supported yesterday's FOMC statement that underscored no need to raise the fed funds target in the near-term," said analyst Michael Woolfolk with Bank of New York Mellon.
The dollar was unchanged Wednesday at 1.0538 Swiss francs while the British pound dipped to 1.5319 dollars from 1.5255 late Tuesday.
- AFP /ls
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