Foreign exchange market. American session: the U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead the Fed’s minutes

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead the Fed's minutes. Investors expect signs when the Fed will start to hike its interest rate.

The U.S. producer price index dropped 0.8% in January, missing forecasts of a 0.4% decline, after a 0.2% decrease in December. December's figure was revised up from a 0.3% fall.

That was the biggest decline since November 2009.

The decline was driven by lower energy prices and a stronger U.S. dollar.

The producer price index excluding food and energy fell 0.1% in January, missing forecasts of a 0.2% increase, after a 0.3% gain in December.

The U.S. industrial production increased 0.2% in January, missing expectations for a 0.5% rise, after a 0.3% drop in December. December's figure was revised down from a 0.1% decline

The increase was driven by higher output of utilities. Mining output dropped by 1% in January, while utility output climbed by 2.3%.

Capacity utilisation rate remained unchanged at 79.4% in January. December's figure was revised up from 79.7%.

Housing starts in the U.S. fell 2.0% to 1.065 million annualized rate in January from a 1.087 million pace in December, missing expectations for a decrease to 1.070 million. December's figure was revised down from 1.089 million units.

Building permits in the U.S. decreased 0.7% to 1.053 million annualized rate in January from a 1.06 million pace in December. Analysts had expected the pace to remain unchanged at 1.06 million units.

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the Eurozone.

Investors remained cautious due to new debt deal talks between the European Union and Greece.

The British pound traded higher against the U.S. dollar. The U.K. unemployment rate fell to 5.7% in the October to December quarter from 5.8% in the three months to September. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

That was the lowest level since August 2008.

The claimant count decreased by 38,600 people in January, exceeding expectations for a drop of 25,200 people, after a decrease of 35,800 people in December. December's figure was revised from a decline of 29,700.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, climbed by 2.1%.

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 1.7%.

Wage growth outpaced inflation for the first time since 2009. Inflation was 0.3% last month.

The Bank of England (BoE) released its last meeting minutes. All members voted to keep the central bank's monetary policy unchanged.

The Swiss franc traded lower against the U.S. dollar. A survey by the ZEW Institute and Credit Suisse Group showed today that Switzerland's economic sentiment index dropped to -73.0 points in February from -10.8 points in January.

The Canadian dollar traded mixed against the U.S. dollar after the better-than-expected Canadian wholesales data. Wholesale sales jumped 2.5% in December, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.3% drop in November. That was the highest increase since January 2011.

The increase was driven by a rise in six of the seven sectors.

The New Zealand dollar traded higher against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the kiwi traded mixed against the greenback in the absence of any major economic reports from New Zealand.

The Australian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the Aussie increased against the greenback in the absence of any major economic reports from Australia.

The Japanese yen traded higher against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the yen traded mixed against the greenback after the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) interest decision. The BoJ kept its monetary policy unchanged.

The BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said at the press conference that the central bank is on course to achieve its 2% target by around the middle of next year. He noted that he wishes a stable yen.

Kuroda pointed out that there no need for additional easing.