Dollar falls on Fed comments

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

NEW YORK, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The dollar fell against most major currencies on Wednesday as investors' risk appetite was boosted by comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Fed decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25 percent, a record low. The central bank said in a statement that the economy has continued to contract, though the pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slower.

Household spending has shown signs of stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth, and tight credit, the Fed said.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product decreased at an annual rate of 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009. The loss was larger than expected but slight higher than the previous quarter.

Personal consumption expenditures, which account for two-thirds of U.S. economic activities, increased 2.2 percent in the first quarter, in contrast to a decrease of 4.3 percent in the previous quarter. Durable goods increased 9.4 percent, nondurable goods increased 1.3 percent.

The euro bought 1.3289 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.3147 dollars it bought late Tuesday. The pound rose to 1.4772 dollars from 1.4620 dollars.

The dollar fell to 1.2008 Canadian dollars from 1.2190 Canadian dollars, and fell to 1.1358 Swiss francs from 1.1440 Swiss francs. It rose to 97.68 Japanese yen from 96.45 Japanese yen.