Dollar inches lower as attention turns to Fed leadership

London (Oct 24)  The dollar edgd down on Tuesday.  Trump told reporters on Monday he is "very, very close" to deciding who should chair the Federal Reserve after interviewing five candidates for the position. These include current Fed Chair Janet Yellen, whose term expires in February, as well as Fed Governor Jerome Powell, Stanford University economist John Taylor, Trump's chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.

"It's a big question for the markets. It's one thing to speculate about it, but it's another to take an FX position," said Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager for State Street Bank in Tokyo.

"Still, the rumours trigger some selling and buying, on perceptions of who might be more dovish or more hawkish," he said.

Investors are also following U.S. tax reform developments. The Senate's approval of a budget resolution on Friday raised hopes that Trump's tax plans would move forward this year.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.2 percent at 93.741 , moving away from 94.017, which had been its highest since Oct. 6.

The dollar inched 0.1 percent lower to 113.35 yen , pulling away from a three-month high of 114.10 yen hit in the wake of Sunday's general election in Japan.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition scored a decisive victory, reassuring investors that his "Abenomics" policies would continue, including the Bank of Japan's easy monetary policy

Reuters