Euro higher vs dollar to $1.4106

The euro was higher against the dollar Wednesday, with the U.S. currency weakened by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce today that it is not yet ready to raise interest rates.

The 16-nation euro edged higher for a third consecutive day, reaching $1.4106 in European morning trading compared with $1.4083 the night before in late New York trading.

The Fed will wrap up a two-day policy meeting later in the day, with most economists predicting that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues won't launch any bold new efforts.

Fears have grown on Wall Street that the Fed's radical efforts to lift the country out of the longest recession since World War II could ignite inflation later on.

The euro was also helped by comments from Axel Weber, head of Germany's Bundesbank and part of the European Central Bank's governing council. In remarks Tuesday in Munich he said the ECB needs to avoid tightening monetary supply prematurely, suggesting the ECB will keep its refinancing rate at 1 percent.

In other trading, the pound bought $1.6563 in morning trading, up from the $1.6454 it bought in New York. The dollar bought 95.40 Japanese yen compared with 95.26 yen the night before in New York.