TOKYO: The dollar tumbled in Asia Thursday as the US Federal Reserve maintained its easy monetary policy, saying it would hold interest rates at 0-0.25 percent "for an extended period", dealers said.
The euro climbed to $1.4832, the highest level since December 2009, from 1.4785 in New York late Wednesday. The European single currency also rose to 121.61 yen from 121.39. The dollar sagged to 82.01 yen from 82.15.
The Australian dollar hit a fresh 29-year high against the US unit at US$1.0903, while the dollar slipped to 1,071.90 Korean Won, a 32-month low. The British pound hit $1.6638, its highest since December 2009.
"The Fed is clearly not thinking about tightening policy anytime soon and, from this perspective, there was nothing in the Fed's language to arrest the USD's recent decline," noted Spiros Papadopoulos of National Australia Bank.
The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) also signalled it would maintain its $600 billion stimulus programme through June as originally planned.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke signalled that after this round of spending the bank would leave the current level of stimulus in place, as it assesses whether the economy is strong enough to thrive on its own.
Gen Kawabe, dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking, said: "While the Fed's decision was in line with the market's expectation, Bernanke's remarks gave rise to a view that the the Fed will continue its monetary easing for a prolonged period, spurring dollar selling and stock purchases."
Since the 2008 financial crisis the Federal Reserve has lapped up assets, nearly tripling its holdings and pumping almost $1.8 trillion extra into the economy in the process.
Bernanke said that level "should essentially remain constant going forward from June," while hinting that further spending was off the table for now.
"The trade-offs -- are getting less attractive at this point," he said.
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