Dollar muscles higher ahead of crucial Fed meeting

LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar rose for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, while stock and bond markets trod water as traders braced for what could be a crucial Federal Reserve meeting later in the day. Japan’s yen was at a four-month low a day after the Bank of Japan finally ditched its sub-zero rates, but the focus was already on whether the Fed signals two U.S. rate cuts are now likely this year rather than the three markets have been hoping for. Its quandary is whether progress on inflation has stalled and, if so, whether U.S. rates – which drive the global cost of borrowing – need to stay in the current 5.00%-5.25% range longer than anyone – investors,…