Dollar steady before Fed minutes; yen hovers below intervention zone

The dollar remained steady at 103.02 on Wednesday against a basket of six major currencies, after moving within a 102.75-103.75 range since June. Traders awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting for monetary policy direction, affecting the dollar-yen rate in particular. The euro nudged up 0.1% to $1.0886 but the Japanese yen remained a focus, with some speculating intervention by authorities as it hovers around the 145 level which prompted intervention by Japanese authorities last year. The Australian dollar held on to the previous day’s 0.32% gain to remain flat at $0.6690, buoyed by a stronger Chinese yuan.