NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. dollar continued to drop on Wednesday, as investors remained optimistic on the possibility of improving global trade environment.
The Australian dollar, widely seen as a barometer of global risk sentiment, extended gains against the greenback for the second consecutive day.
The market continued digesting the news that China and the United States have a new round of economic and trade consultations in Washington this week.
The Fed decides to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 2.25 to 2.5 percent, according to the minutes of its policy meeting on Jan. 29-30, which was released on Wednesday.
The central bank promised that it would be patient when it determines what future adjustments to the target range, in light of "global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures."
"Participants pointed to a variety of considerations that supported a patient approach to monetary policy at this juncture as an appropriate step in managing various risks and uncertainties in the outlook," the minutes said.
The Fed described "a patient and flexible approach" as a way to "manage risks while assessing incoming information bearing on the economic outlook."
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1351 U.S. dollars from 1.1340 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was down to 1.3061 dollars from 1.3067 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar was up to 0.7173 dollar from 0.7169 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 110.82 Japanese yen, higher than 110.65 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 1.0002 Swiss francs from 1.0007 Swiss francs, and it was down to 1.3154 Canadian dollars from 1.3212 Canadian dollars.
