The U.S. dollar traded mixed to higher against the most major currencies ahead of the release of the Fed's March monetary policy meeting minutes later in the day. Investors hope to get insight how the Fed plans to tighten its monetary policy. The central bank may start to hike its interest rate in June. It is unclear how the Fed want to raise its interest rate.
The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar. Retail sales in the Eurozone fell 0.2% in February, missing expectations for a 0.1% decrease, after a 0.9% gain in January. January's figure was revised down from a 1.1% rise.
The decline was driven by lower gasoline sales and lower sales of food and drinks.
On a yearly basis, retail sales in the Eurozone rose 3.0% in February, after a 3.2% increase in January. January's figure was revised down from a 3.7% gain.
German seasonal adjusted factory orders decreased 0.9% in February, missing expectations for a 1.5% increase, after a 2.6% drop in January. January's figure was revised up from a 3.9% decline.
Concerns over Greece's debt problems continue to weigh on the euro. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today.
The British pound traded mixed against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the U.K.
The Bank of England released its quarterly Credit Conditions Survey on Wednesday. U.K. lenders expect the demand for secured lending for house purchase to increase in the second quarter of 2015.
The Swiss franc traded lower against the U.S. dollar. Switzerland's consumer price index rose 0.3% in March, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.3% decline in February.
The rise was driven by higher prices for clothing, petroleum products and package holidays.
On a yearly basis, Switzerland's consumer price index declined to -0.9% in March from -0.8% in February, beating expectations for a drop to -1.0%. It was the lowest level since June 2012.
The New Zealand dollar traded mixed against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the kiwi rose against the greenback in the absence of any economic reports from New Zealand.
The Australian dollar traded mixed against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the Aussie increased against the greenback in the absence of any economic reports from Australia.
The Aussie remained supported by yesterday's Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate decision. The RBA kept its interest rate unchanged at 2.25%.
The Japanese yen traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the yen traded higher against the greenback as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its monetary policy unchanged. The central bank voted 8-1 to keep its monetary policy unchanged. Takahide Kiuchi wants the BoJ to cut its asset-purchase target by almost half.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said at the press conference on Wednesday that Japan's economy faces less risk now than it did last year. He noted that the stimulus boost in October has a positive impact on wages and prices.
Japan's current account surplus jumped to 1,440.1 billion yen in February from a 61.4 billion yen surplus in January, exceeding expectations for a surplus of 1,150 billion yen. It was the highest level since September 2011.
The increase was driven by the higher value in yen terms of income from overseas investments and a smaller trade deficit.
Japan's economy watchers' current conditions index climbed to 52.2 in March from 50.1 in February, exceeding expectations for an increase to 50.9.
Japan's economy watchers' future conditions index rose to 53.4 in March from 53.2 in February.
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