Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower on Wednesday, while the euro rose as the equity selloff eased and demand for risk-averse commodities fell.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.22% to 96.502, as of 10:43 AM ET (15:43 GMT).
Wall Street rallied, with technology stocks recovering from their losses earlier in the week.
The greenback has been under pressure due to dovish comments from Federal Reserve policymakers and some unexpectedly weak U.S. economic data indicating that the central bank could slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
The dollar was slightly higher against the safe-heaven Japanese yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.03% to 112.58. In times of uncertainty, investors tend to invest in the Japanese yen, which is considered a safe asset during periods of risk aversion.
Elsewhere, the euro recovered as the European Union opened disciplinary procedures against Italy after it rejected its budget for 2019. EUR/USD rose 0.30% to 1.1404.
The pound inched up slightly after a parliamentary group failed to get the signatures it needed to challenge Prime Minister Theresa May’s leadership. May is in Brussels to discuss Brexit negotiation with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. GBP/USD rose 0.01% to 1.2789.
Meanwhile, NZD/USD increased 0.87% to 0.6846, while AUD/USD was up 0.82% to 0.7272.