Dollar drops after Fed announces QE3

The value of the U.S. dollar dropped Thursday against the Japanese yen after the central bank of the U.S. indicated it will kick off a third round of quantitative easing, according to Bloomberg.

So too did the greenback drop against its major rivals after chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that the Fed will widen its ownership of long-term securities with monthly acquisitions of $40 billion in mortgage debt. The yen drove to its top value in seven months against the U.S. dollar.

"The dollar has sold off a lot in the lead up to this and risk had been bought," North American G-10 currency strategy head Greg Anderson with Citigroup Inc. in New York told the news source. "I think you'll see the dollar regain some of its losses, more broadly."

The U.S. Federal Reserve also indicated short-term interest rates will remain near zero for the next three years.

The New York Times reports 11 members of the Fed's policy-making arm voted for the third round of QE while only one did not.