2017.07.2514:19:00UTC+00Dollar Little Changed Ahead Of Fed Announcement

The dollar is turning in a mixed performance Tuesday afternoon, but is little changed overall. The buck is down slightly against its major European rivals following the release of the better than expected German business confidence report.

The Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting this morning and will announce its decision Wednesday afternoon. The Fed is widely expected to leave rate unchanged at the meeting, but investors will be paying close attention to the accompanying statement for clues regarding future rate hikes.

Consumer confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly improved in the month of July, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 121.1 in July from a revised 117.3 in June. Economists had expected the index to drop to 117.0 from the 118.9 originally reported for the previous month.

Greece has made much progress since 2010 and investor confidence is returning to the country, European Commission Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Tuesday, as the country held a sale of its government bonds for the first time since 2014.

Since February, Greece has made several important and very positive developments, Moscovici said.

The top EU official expressed hope that Greece will be able to stand on its feet within a year and become a 'normal' member of the euro area again.

"I am convinced that Greece can once again look to the future with hope and confidence."

The dollar slipped to nearly a 2-year low of $1.1712 against the Euro Tuesday morning, but has since bounced back to around $1.1660.

German business confidence strengthened further to a fresh record high in July as companies became more satisfied with their current situation amid the improving business outlook. The business confidence index rose to 116 in July from a revised 115.2 in June, survey data from the Ifo Institute showed Tuesday. The score was forecast to fall to 114.9.

German construction orders declined notably in May from April, figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. New orders in the construction industry fell by seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in May.

German import prices increased at the slowest pace in seven months in June, data from Destatis showed Tuesday.

Import prices increased 2.5 percent year-on-year in June, slower than the 4.1 percent rise in May. This was the weakest increase since November, when prices gained 0.3 percent. Economists had expected prices to rise 2.9 percent.

At the same time, export prices advanced 1.8 percent on a yearly basis, after climbing 2.2 percent a month ago.

French manufacturing confidence remained stable in July, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Tuesday. The manufacturing sentiment index came in at 109 in July, the same as in June. Economists had forecast the score to remain at June's initially estimated value of 108.0.

French producer prices in the domestic market decreased further in June, the statistical office Insee reported Tuesday. Producer prices dropped 0.4 percent month-over-month in June, following a 0.6 percent fall in May.

The buck fell to a 1-week low of $1.3083 against the pound sterling Tuesday morning, but has since rebounded to around $1.3045.

The greenback has climbed to around Y111.675 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early low of Y110.824.