Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as markets continued to recover from Britain’s decision last week to leave the European Union and demand for riskier assets continued to strengthen.
GBP/USD rose 0.24% to 1.3382, off the 31-year low of 1.3122 set on Monday, a level not seen since 1985. The two-day selloff in sterling seen on Friday and Monday was the largest in recent history.
The pound came under broad selling pressure as fears that a Brexit could hit investment in the U.K. economy, threaten London's role as a global financial capital and usher in a period of slower global economic growth.
EU leaders were to continue to discuss the implications of Brexit at a summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, EU leaders said there would be no special deals from former members of the trading bloc.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that U.K. net lending to individuals rose by £4.3 billion in May after an increase of £1.6 billion the previous month. Analysts had expected net lending to individuals to rise by £2.9 billion last month.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1064, off Friday’s three-month trough of 1.0908, while EUR/GBP slid 0.31% to 0.8267, still close to Monday’s two-year peak of 0.8378.
USD/JPY edged down 0.12% to 102.65 after falling to lows of 99.15 on Friday, the weakest level since November 2013, while USD/CHF eased 0.09% to 0.9810.
Traders remained focused on whether Japan would take any action to weaken the yen if it continued to strengthen.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday pledged to use all available policy tools to protect the economy from the fallout from Brexit.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.43% at 0.7416 and with NZD/USD climbing 0.61% to 0.7091.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD fell 0.15% to 1.3006.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 96.17, still close to Monday’s three-month highs of 96.86.