Dollar Declines as Fed Maintains Pace of Bond Buying Program

The dollar declined for the first time in three days after the Federal Reserve maintained its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases and said that persistently low inflation could hamper the U.S. economic expansion.

The greenback had gained earlier versus the euro and yen as reports showed companies boosted payrolls in July by the most this year and the U.S. economy grew more than projected in the second quarter. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said this month a reduction in the central bank’s bond-buying program would depend on the economy’s performance. The Australian dollar fell to its weakest level in almost three years on speculation the country’s central bank will cut interest rates.