Major FX Pairs Rangebound, All Eyes On Fed

Most G10 crosses were happy to hold narrow ranges ahead of today's monetary policy announcement from the Fed, who are expected to take a more hawkish stance, which should be reflected in a faster asset purchase taper, a more aggressive rate dot lot and tweaks to the language. The DXY wavered in close proximity to yesterday's high.

• The kiwi has underperformed at the margin as New Zealand's quarterly BoP current account deficit expanded more than forecast in the three months through the end of September. RBNZ Gov Orr did not offer any fresh insights in his latest address, noting that the OCR will likely move above its neutral level at some point. The Treasury's HYEFU showed improvement in debt outlook, with the Debt Management Office slashing their bond issuance plans for the next four years.
• The yuan showed little interest in China's economic activity data, which were (on balance) slightly weaker than expected. Industrial output rose marginally faster than expected but retail sales growth slowed more than forecast. Fixed assets and property investment missed expectations by a narrow margin, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged higher to 5.0% from 4.9%.
• Inflation reports from the UK, France, Italy and Canada as well as U.S. retail sales & Empire M'fing will take focus on the data front later in the day.