Dollar Little Changed After Beige Book Released

The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major rivals Wednesday afternoon. The buck is up slightly against the Euro and the Japanese Yen, but has dropped to over an 18-month low against the British pound.

The U.S. economy continue to expand at a "modest to moderate" pace in December and early January, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

Respondents to the Fed's survey were "optimistic" about 2018 after seeing that wages increased in most districts of the country.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday morning that U.S. industrial production climbed by 0.9 percent in December. Economists had expected an increase of 0.4 percent. The prior month result was also revised to a decrease of 0.1 percent, from the original result of an increase of 0.2 percent.

The National Association of Home Builders reported this morning that U.S. homebuilder confidence fell to 72 in January, after reaching an 18-year high of 74 in December. Economists had expected the index to dip to 73.

The dollar climbed to an early high of $1.2193 against the Euro Wednesday, but has since retreated to around $1.2275.

Eurozone inflation slowed as estimated in December on slower growth in energy prices, final data from Eurostat showed Wednesday. Inflation eased to 1.4 percent in December from 1.5 percent in November. The rate came in line with the initial estimate published on January 5.

Eurozone construction output increased in November after falling in the previous month, data from Eurostat showed Wednesday. Construction output advanced a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month in November, reversing a 0.3 percent drop in October, which was revised from a 0.4 percent fall reported earlier.

The buck has tumbled to over an 18-month low of $1.3935 against the pound sterling Wednesday afternoon, from an early high of $1.3756.

The greenback has slipped to around Y110.615 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early high of Y110.929.

The value of core machine orders in Japan surged a seasonally adjusted 5.7 percent on month in November, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday, coming in at 899.2 billion yen. That beat expectations for a decline of 1.2 percent on month following the 5.0 percent jump in October.