1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar declines after Fed statement

The U.S. dollar decreased against other major currencies on Thursday as investors were digesting the Federal Reserve policy statement.

In a statement released after the Fed's two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, Fed officials maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.25 to 0.5 percent, noting that "global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks" to the U.S. economy.

"In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate," the central bank "will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation," according to the statement.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 1.17 percent at 94.764 in late trading on Thursday.

On the economic front, in the week ending March 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 265,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1318 dollars from 1.1183 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.4486 dollars from 1.4230 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7651 dollars from 0.7526 dollars.

The dollar bought 111.43 Japanese yen, lower than 112.91 yen of the previous session. The dollar decreased to 0.9672 Swiss francs from 0.9812 Swiss francs, and it inched down to 1.2996 Canadian dollars from 1.3192 Canadian dollars. Endit