Asian session review: the US dollar declined slightly against the major currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar consolidated against the euro, but fell against the pound, yen, and australian dollar.

Investors are waiting for the end of the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).The Fed's meeting comes amid growing evidence of increased price pressures in the economy as it recovers from last year's downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In general, experts are inclined to believe that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to give signals about plans to gradually reduce the volume of bond purchases earlier than in August-September of this year. At the same time, some analysts are betting that the Fed can begin reducing the asset purchase program from the current $120 billion per month by the end of 2021.

The dot plot - a chart that reflects the individual expectations of the Fed's board of governors and the heads of the Federal Reserve banks regarding interest rates - can show that all 18 Fed managers expect at least one rate hike in 2023.

Meanwhile, the international rating agency Fitch Ratings has improved its forecast for global GDP growth for 2021 due to incoming macroeconomic data, faster opening of the service sector in the United States and Europe, as well as measures of support from the authorities.

The pound rose by 0.25% against the US dollar on the back of data on the UK. Consumer prices in the UK rose by 2.1% in May compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Thus, inflation accelerated compared to April's 1.5%. Analysts had expected an increase to 1.8%.

The ICE index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), fell 0.07%.