The dollar nursed losses on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left the door open to more monetary easing and dampened expectations for a quick economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The greenback was also weighed down as signs the pandemic is receding in other countries and reduced safe-haven demand for holding funds in dollars. Additionally boosting appetite for riskier currencies were positive trial results of an experimental COVID-19 treatment.

The dollar traded at 106.65 yen in Asia on Thursday, close to a six-week low.

Against the pound , the dollar stood at $1.2461, following a 0.3% decline on Wednesday.

The greenback was little changed at 0.9748 Swiss franc .

After a two-day policy meeting ending Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates near zero and promised to expand emergency programmes as needed to help the battered economy.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell offered no sanguine words about how fast the country might return - if ever - to the near-record low unemployment and solid growth of just a few weeks ago.

The United States and other major economies forced businesses to close and kept people at home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which slammed the brakes on global growth.

The euro was little changed at $1.0867 on Thursday. Against the pound, the common currency traded 87.25 pence.

Source : Reuters