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The dollar traded around one-week lows against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, coming under pressure after minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting gave no clear indication about the timing of any interest rate rise. The Australian dollar, meanwhile, slipped after a rise in the country's jobless rate raised concern about its stalled economy and stoked expectations that interest rates may remain on hold for months to come. The Fed minutes confirmed that the U.S. central bank's monthly bond purchases would probably end in October and showed that policymakers debated the complexities of unwinding a stimulus program that has flooded the financial system with over $2 trillion. The uncertain outlook for the timing of the Fed's move has kept major currencies in relatively tight ranges in recent weeks. "The Fed is driving the station wagon right now, with everybody in the back. We're expecting rates to go higher, and there are side bets on when that

Most Asian stock markets rose and the dollar dipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it was in no rush to begin raising interest rates, even as it began to plan an exit strategy from an era of loose monetary policy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.3 percent. European shares looked set to follow suit, with Germany's DAX seen rising up to 0.1 percent, though U.S. stock futures were marginally weaker. Tokyo's Nikkei bucked the trend and fell 0.3 percent, weighed down by a record drop in machinery orders in May that cast doubt over the outlook for capital spending and the strength of its economic recovery. China's exports in June also missed market forecasts, but caused limited reaction in regional markets as it reinforced expectations that Beijing will have to unveil more stimulus measures to stabilise the economy and meet its 2014 growth target. "The trade figures were not so exciting. It's still unrealis

Greek yields dipped on Thursday as the aid recipient readied an issue of three-year bonds in its second debt sale since its default, taking advantage of a European Central Bank promise to make long-term loans to banks. The sale is expected to raise 3 billion euros and follows a five-year bond sale in April, which marked one of the fastest market comebacks by a sovereign following a debt restructuring. It is also signalling Greece's gradual emergence from a debt crisis that started in 2010 and spread to other countries in the euro zone at its peak in 2011 and 2012, when Athens imposed heavy losses on private bondholders. Although Greece is expected to come out of a six-year recession in 2014 and is running a budget surplus excluding interest rate payments, the renewed interest for its bonds has a more powerful force behind it. The ECB's ultra-easy monetary policy has pinned yields on top-rated bonds at record lows and pushed investors towards riskier assets to maximise retu

China is committed to reducing its intervention in the foreign exchange market and is preparing to increase the transparency of its currency policy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Thursday. _0"> U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said separately that China and the United States had a frank exchange about cyber security issues and agreed to continue those discussions. Lew and Kerry were speaking at the end of annual high-level talks between China and the United States. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton ; Writing by Ben Blanchard ; Editing by Dean Yates)

The dollar was stuck near one-week lows against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, staying on the back foot after minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting gave no clear indication about the timing of an interest rate rise. In the European session, the Swedish crown rose to a one-week high against the euro after data showed consumer prices in Sweden rose more than expected. That drove some investors to trim short bets against the currency made after a sharp interest rate cut by the country's central bank last week. The focus though was on the dollar. The Fed minutes confirmed the U.S. central bank's monthly bond purchases would probably end in October and showed that policymakers debated the complexities of unwinding a stimulus program that has flooded the financial system with over $2 trillion. The uncertain outlook for the timing of the Fed's move has kept a lid on Treasury yields, with the two-year yield also hovering near one-week lows at around 0.48

European shares were back in negative territory on Thursday, a brief lift from U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes proving short-lived as investors worried whether markets could go it alone without the U.S. central bank's emergency support. Faith in a rally in share prices dating back almost three years has more shaky over the past month than for some time, as the Fed nears what looks like a definitive end to its programme of new money-printing. The minutes from the U.S. central bank's last meeting, published after European markets had closed on Wednesday, offered no sign it was any closer to following that with a swift rise in official interest rates to cool the economy. That boosted U.S. and Asian markets overnight. But the dominant concern at the European open was over companies' results and the economy's ability to survive without the new funds which the Fed's bond-buying has forced into the system every month. Norway's largest bank DNB added to an ina

U.S. and Chinese leaders have agreed that China will reduce its intervention in the currency market when conditions are ripe, reaching an understanding on a prickly issue that has hurt ties between the world's two biggest economies for years. China's Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on the sidelines of annual high-level talks between the two nations that China will "significantly" reduce its yuan intervention when some prerequisites are met. He did not give further details. Analysts said Zhou's unusual candour about China's currency intervention, which was echoed earlier on Wednesday by the Chinese finance minister, suggested that China may be ready to let the yuan rise again once its economy stabilises. Indeed, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told reporters at the end of talks on Thursday that China was committed to reducing its interference with the yuan, "as conditions permit". China will also increase the transparency of its curren