the dollar slipped monday as investors weighed u.s. economic data, upcoming central-bank meetings and the looming u.s. presidential election. the wsj dollar index, which measures the u.s. currency against 16 others, was recently down 0.1% to 88.55. the british pound rose 0.5% to $1.2245 after bank of england gov. mark carney said he would remain in his post until 2019. investors are watching economic data closely for signs that the u.s. economy is strong enough to handle an interest-rate increase this year. data out monday was mixed. a report showed that consumer spending rose a better-than-expected 0.5% in september, a sign of resilience among households amid steady job creation. separately, a report measuring business activity in chicago fell to a five-month low in october. the federal reserve will release its latest interest-rate decision at the close of its two-day meeting on wednesday, but few expect the central bank to raise borrowing costs ahead of the nov. 8 presidential election. <u+201c>the fed will be closely watched given expectations that the fed will signal its intent to hike rates in december,<u+201d> wrote analysts at td securities in a research note. <u+201c>we look for changes to the language that indicate <u+2018>further evidence<u+2019> of progress but do not expect an explicit discussion of a hike next month.<u+201d> fed-funds futures, a popular tool for betting on central-bank policy, show that investors assign a 73% likelihood of a rate increase in december, according to cme group data. analysts say the next test for the dollar will be friday<u+2019>s u.s. jobs report, which many see as the best read on the health of the u.s. labor market. the japanese yen slipped ahead of the bank of japan <u+2019>s policy announcement, expected overnight. expectations for further stimulus are muted. the dollar was up 0.1% to <u+00a5>104.8. the mexican peso rebounded 0.6% against the dollar after data showed the mexican economy expanded in the third quarter. the peso sold off sharply friday after new evidence in the investigation of hillary clinton <u+2019>s emails cast uncertainty on the u.s. presidential election. the mexican currency has been highly vulnerable to developments in the election as investors worry that republican candidate donald trump <u+2019>s plans to build a wall between the two countries and to renegotiate trade agreements could damage mexico<u+2019>s economy. write to chelsey dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
dollar slips as investors await central bank meetings, u.s. election - wsj
chelsey dulaney