Will the Federal Reserve meeting spring any surprises later today?

In terms of actual market movement yesterday, the US dollar traded in a tight range against most pairs, with the sterling-dollar pair continuing its third day with no clear direction. The only movement worth noting was a slight gain against the euro, in favour of the dollar. In terms of data released, we saw mixed results: housing permits and building starts disappointed by coming in lower than expected, whilst there were positive surprises in all data sets measuring US inflation being higher than forecast.

Today we are expecting a number of events that will affect the dollar pairs: at 1.30pm UK time the US Current account details will be released, followed at 7pm by the Federal Reserve interest rate decision and FOMC statement. Additional rhetoric will be provided by Chair Yellen at 7.30pm UK time.