The U.S. dollar slipped against its major rivals in European deals on Wednesday, as traders await the outcome of a 2-day monetary policy meeting by the Federal Reserve later in the day, amid hopes that it would be patient in raising rates.

Most economists expect the Fed to adhere to its December meeting's stance of remaining patient as it considers when to raise rates. At the December news conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen told reporters that the first increase won't happen for at least couple of meetings or before April.

Although the U.S. economy has shown steady improvement, inflation has been falling below the Fed's target rate, due to plunging oil prices and a surging dollar. Since the December FOMC meeting, the U.S. economic data has been inconsistent, raising doubts among investors regarding whether the bank may further delay its rate hike.

The currency was lower against most major currencies on Tuesday, following an unexpected drop in durable goods orders in December.

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly showed a substantial decrease in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The drop was partly due to a sharp decline in orders for transportation equipment.

Traders focus on U.S. GDP data due Friday, for further clues about the economy's strength. Economists call for an increase of 3.0 percent on year in the fourth quarter, after the 5.0 percent growth recorded in the third quarter.

Retreating from an early high of 0.9089 against the Swiss franc, the greenback fell to 0.8987. The next possible support for the greenback-franc pair is seen around the 0.85 zone.

Swiss consumption indicator increased in December as new car registrations surged, a report from the global financial services firm UBS showed.

The UBS consumption indicator climbed to 1.42 in December from 1.29 in November.

The greenback edged down to 117.54 against the Japanese yen, after advancing to 118.25 around 8:30 pm ET. If the greenback-yen pair extends slide, it may find support around the 116.00 level.

The greenback, which strengthened to 1.5153 against the Sterling in early deals, dropped to 1.5213. On the downside, 1.55 is seen as the greenback's next support level.

The greenback fell back against the euro, trading around the 1.138 level. Continuation of the greenback's downtrend may take it to a support around the 1.25 mark.

Germany's import prices declined at a faster-than-expected pace in December, figures from the statistical office Destatis showed.

The import price index fell 3.7 percent year-on-year in December, faster than November's 2.1 percent decline.

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