- Traders await clues on Fed's stance on balance sheet
- Criminal charges against Huawei cloud U.S-China trade talks
- UK parliament to vote on Brexit amendments at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT)
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments; new bline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
Sterling rose on Tuesday before British lawmakers were scheduled to vote on whether to take a proposal off the table to leave the European Union without a deal, while the U.S. dollar was little changed ahead of a Federal Reserve two-year policy meeting.
The euro, yen and other major currencies were locked in narrow trading ranges, with traders reluctant to take big positions due to uncertainty over the U.K. parliamentary vote. There were also clues from the U.S. central bank that it might pause from its current rate-hike campaign.
Investors expect the Fed to adopt a more cautious stance, pressured by signs of a peak in U.S. corporate earnings and the threat of an economic slowdown both at home and globally.
Fed policy makers convene Tuesday and are expected to release a policy statement on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT), followed by a press conference from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
"You are not going to see any breakout in currencies at this point," said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management at Horsham, Pennsylvania.
Investors were also jittery after U.S. officials announced criminal charges against China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. This ratcheted up tensions between Washington and Beijing before trade talks this week.
At 10:01 a.m. (1501 GMT), an index that tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies .DXY was little changed at 95.804. It touched a two-week low during the session.
The yuan was steady at 6.753 per dollar, scaling back from Monday when it reached its strongest level since July.
The pound GBP=D3 edged up 0.14 percent at $1.3174, hovering below its highest level since mid-October hit last week.
The euro EURGBP=D3 slipped 0.14 percent at 86.715 pence, and little changed at $1.1426.
After rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit proposal this month, other lawmakers offered amendments. One would postpone the March 29 Brexit deadline if a deal with the European Union is not approved by Feb 26.
Traders are betting parliament will not pull out of the EU without terms on trade and business activities, fearing such a "no-deal Brexit" could severely disrupt the economy.
Voting on the amendments will begin at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT).
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:59AM (1459 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1424 $1.1433 -0.08% -0.39% +1.1451 +1.1414 Dollar/Yen JPY= 109.4100 109.3400 +0.06% -0.77% +109.5300 +109.1300 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 125.01 124.93 +0.06% -0.94% +125.2400 +124.6900 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9946 0.9914 +0.32% +1.35% +0.9949 +0.9908 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3171 1.3162 +0.07% +3.26% +1.3198 +1.3130 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3253 1.3262 -0.07% -2.82% +1.3278 +1.3244 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7150 0.7165 -0.21% +1.43% +0.7176 +0.7139 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1366 1.1333 +0.29% +0.97% +1.1366 +1.1333 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8671 0.8681 -0.12% -3.48% +0.8710 +0.8657 NZ NZD= 0.6829 0.6828 +0.01% +1.67% +0.6861 +0.6816 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 8.4892 8.5107 -0.25% -1.73% +8.5190 +8.4771 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.6984 9.7275 -0.30% -2.10% +9.7358 +9.6983 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.0640 9.0515 +0.09% +1.12% +9.0749 +9.0365 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.3575 10.3478 +0.09% +0.91% +10.3676 +10.3440 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ G10 FX MTD http//tmsnrt.rs/2B9sf8ZGRAPHIC-Brexit economic impact http//tmsnrt.rs/2Rl7mxJ GRAPHIC-Bumpy road to Brexit http//tmsnrt.rs/2PtGWYL
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Addition reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in LONDONEditing by David Gregorio) (([email protected]; +1 646 223 6313; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]; Twitter @RichardLeong2))
