Investing.com - The dollar remained moderately lower against the other major currencies in light trade on Wednesday, with no major U.S. data expected throughout the day and as investors remained focused on upcoming central bank meetings.
GBP/USD rose 0.28% to 1.3283, just off a two-week high of 1.3336 hit overnight.
U.K. political instability concerns continued to ease, as Interior minister Theresa May was set to become Britain's prime minister on Wednesday.
But the pound remained under pressure amid mounting expectations for a rate cut from the Bank of England at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Thursday.
The BoE could potentially cut interest rates to fresh record lows and step up quantitative easing measures to cushion the U.K. economy from the fallout from Brexit.
BoE Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday that any negative consequences from the Brexit vote on the U.K. economy could prompt the central bank to act, fuelling expectations for more stimulus measures.
USD/JPY held steady at 104.62, off the previous session’s two-and-a-half week highs of 104.98, while USD/CHF slid 0.39% to 0.9852.
The yen pared losses posted after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition increased its majority in the upper house in parliamentary elections on Sunday.
The win for Abe’s coalition fed hopes for a fresh package of stimulus measures to spur economic growth.
EUR/USD edged up 0.11% to 1.1072.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7627 and with NZD/USD at 0.7306.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that China’s exports declined by an annualized rate of 4.8% in June, whise imports dropped 8.4%.
China is Australia’s biggest export partner and New Zealand’s second biggest export partner.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD was little changed at 1.3052, not far from Monday’s five-week highs of 1.3140.
Commodity currencies remained under pressure as oil prices turned lower after the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly by 2.2 million barrels last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.16% at 96.40.