Dollar Dips Following Fed News

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Upbeat investors usually spells trouble for the dollar, and today was no different.

The greenback was tracking back against a host of currencies this afternoon following the Fed's slightly encouraging feelings and the positive moves in the stock markets.

The dollar was losing steam, falling to 1.0901 Canadian dollars and 1.0777 Swiss francs.

Earlier today, the Federal Reserve issued an economic policy statement. The Fed said it will continue to keep its key interest rate at near zero. The largely ho-hum statement also, though, offered a subtly more upbeat assessment of the economy, saying that the economic environment was "leveling out."

News on Toll Brothers(TOL Quote), Travelers(TRV Quote), Macy's(M Quote) and Applied Materials(AMAT Quote) helped pace a lot of the upward market moves today.

The dollar is typically used as a safe-haven investment during rough economic tumbles, but investors flee from the low yields when times are looking good.

But the dollar was moving up on the Japanese currency, another safe-haven option, as the buck came to 96.0750 yen.

The British pound was largely flat, landing at $1.6485, while the euro advanced to $1.4193. The Australian dollar also moved ahead, coming to 83.28 U.S. cents.

-- Reported by Sung Moss in New York