Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against other major currencies on Wednesday, helped by growing hopes for a June rate hike in the U.S. and as investors turned their attention to a key U.S. employment report due at the end of the week.
EUR/USD slipped 0.11% to 1.1174.
The dollar weakened after data on Tuesday showed that the CB consumer confidence index fell to 117.9 in April, compared to expectations for a rise to 119.8.
However, the U.S. Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.4% last month, in line with economists’ forecasts. It was the biggest increase in four months.
The greenback has also been under pressure amid fears investigations into President Donald Trump's ties with Russia could hamper his administration's progress on promised stimulus measures.
In the euro zone, Eurostat earlier reported that consumer price inflation rose by 1.4% in May, below expectations for an increase of 1.5% and following a final reading of a 1.9% advance in the prior month.
GBP/USD dropped 0.61% to trade at 1.2780 after a new poll showed that British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party could lose 20 of the 330 seats it holds in Parliament while the opposition Labour Party could gain nearly 30 seats
The news came after a string of opinion polls showed a narrowing lead for May's Conservatives.
Data showed that U.K. net lending to individuals fell to £4.3 billion in April from £4.7 billion the previous month, compared to expectations for decline to £4.5 billion.
USD/JPY held steady at 110.80, while USD/CHF was almost unchanged at 0.9745.
The Australian dollar was weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.19% at 0.7451, while NZD/USD was eased up 0.10% to 0.7103.
Data earlier showed that China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index remained unchanged at 51.2 in May, confounding expectations for a downtick to 51.0.
China is Australia’s biggest export partner.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3449.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% at 97.35.