Investing.com - The dollar held onto a slight edge over the yen in Asia on Wednesday despite strong machinery orders from Tokyo.
USD/JPY changed hands at 113.56, up 0.01%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7556, down 0.03%.
Japan reported core machinery orders for October with a jump of 5.0%, compared to a 2.8% gain seen on month and a 2.3% rise, compared to a 2.8% decline expected on year.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted up 0.13% to 94.06.
According to investing.com’s fed rate monitor tool, 100% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates on Wednesday for the third time this year.
Overnight, the dollar rose to three-week highs against a basket of major currencies after upbeat wholesale inflation data suggested that weakness in inflation could be waning ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4% last month. In the 12 months through August, the PPI rose 3.1% after rising 2.8% in October. That beat economists’ forecast of a 2.9% for November.
The upbeat wholesale inflation report raised expectations for a solid consumer inflation report due Wednesday. Bank of Tokyo Mitsu said the PPI data showed a sharp improvement in producer inflation, and added that the demand-led price push from higher commodity prices was a “classic” signal of increasing inflationary pressures.
Investor focus, meanwhile, is expected to shift to monetary policy as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) got its two-day meeting underway on Tuesday, ahead of the Wednesday’s interest rate decision.
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