The dollar was down against the euro and the yen on Wednesday, as the market was counting on a PARTICULARly accommodative US Federal Reserve (Fed) to counter the effects on the economy of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around 10:25 GMT (11:25 in Paris), the dollar lost 0.18% against the euro, to 1.1882 dollars to the euro, and 0.35% against the yen, to 123.37 yen to the dollar.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Late Tuesday that the recent rise in the infection rate remains a risk to the economy, "especially in the short term."

"The Fed will stay there and is ready to use all its tools," he said.

While measures to help the economy tend to weigh on the value of the dollar, the index that compares the greenback to other major currencies was down for the fifth consecutive session.

"Betting on a weaker dollar has become too consensual, but the decline in US yields remains the main topic of the foreign exchange market," said Kit Juckes, an analyst at Societe Generale.

Rising against the dollar, the euro was however down against the yen (-0.18% to 123.37 yen) and the British pound (-0.16% to 89.42 pence for one euro).

"On both sides of the Atlantic, political groups are blocking" government stimulus packages for the economy, leaving central banks with the role of supporting the economy, said Antje Praefcke, an analyst at Commerzbank.

Budapest and Warsaw opposed the European recovery plan on Monday. The subject should be invited Thursday to a summit by videoconference officially dedicated to the Covid-19 crisis.

The European Central Bank (ECB) signaled that it would take additional steps to support the economy at its next meeting in December.