The US Dollar declined in value against the major currencies, as the Fed continued with its policy of maintaining low interest rates and buying US Treasury Bonds. The Euro-USD exchange rate increased by 0.1164 percent to 1.4840. The USD-JPY exchange rate also appreciated by 0.0426 percent to 81.5705, while the AUD-JPY exchange rate was 88.8273.
The Fed announced that it would continue with its plan of purchasing US treasury bonds worth USD $ 600 billion till June, and would also maintain the overnight borrowing rates to banks between 0 and 0.25 percent. This has contributed to a depreciation of the dollar, as investors are turning to other currencies which offer higher rates of inflation. Further, reports released by the US Commerce Department showed that the average growth rate for the first quarter of this year was 1.8 percent per annum, which was lower than the 2 percent growth rate predicted by economists. The Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the US dollar against six other major currencies, fell to its lowest level in more than two years of 72.871.