Dollar holds gains vs. rivals, Fed meeting minutes on tap

The dollar remained broadly higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, despite the release of weak U.S. economic reports as markets turned their attention to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting due later in the day.

The Federal Reserve said that U.S. industrial production increased by 0.2% last month, below expectations for a gain of 0.3%.

The report also showed that the capacity utilization rate, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, held steady at 79.4% in January, compared to expectations for a reading of 79.9%.

Earlier Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. producer prices fell by 0.8% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.4% decline, while core producer prices eased down by 0.1% last month, compared to forecasts for a gain of 0.1%.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said that the number of building permits issued last month decreased by 0.7% to1.053 million units from December’s total of 1.060 million. Analysts expected building permits to rise by 0.8% to 1.069 million units in January.

The report also showed that U.S. housing starts declined by 2.0% last month to hit 1.065 million units from December’s total of 1.087 million units, worse than expectations for a decline of 1.7% to 1.070 million.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.32% to 94.44.

The euro pushed lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.41% to 1.1363.

However, market participants remained optimistic that a new deal on Greece’s international bailout could be reached, despite a standoff between Athens and European officials after talks broke down on Monday.

The pound remained near more than one-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USDup 0.58% to 1.5442.

In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that the unemployment rate fell to a six-year low 5.7% in the three months to December from 5.8% in the preceding three month-period and better than expectations for a reading of 5.8%.

The report also showed that the claimant count fell by 38,600 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 25,000.

Separately, the minutes of the Bank of England's February policy meeting showed that members voted unanimously to keep the asset puschase facility program on hold. Members also voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged at a record-low 0.5%.

Elsewhere, USD/JPY held steady at 119.20, while USD/CHF gained 0.61% to 0.9426.

The yen showed a muted reaction after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged earlier Wednesday, in a widely anticipated decision.

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were broadly weaker, with AUD/USDsliding 0.36% to 0.7790 and NZD/USD shedding 0.25% to 0.7520, while USD/CADclimbed 0.46% to 1.2446.

In Canada, official data showed that wholesale sales rose 2.5% in December, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.3% fall the previous month.