Investing.com - The dollar slid lower against a currency basket on Wednesday as risk aversion eased, dampening safe haven demand, but losses were held in check amid persistent concerns over slowing global growth and the U.S.-China trade war.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% to 96.53 by 03:33 AM ET (08:33 AM GMT), after gaining 0.68% in the previous session.
European markets opened higher and U.S. futures rose as risk aversion eased in the wake of a slump on Wall Street on Tuesday, which carried over into Asian markets overnight.
The rout in equities prompted investors to seek safety in the dollar, which rebounded from two-week lows on Tuesday.
The greenback had been pressured lower after dovish comments from Federal Reserve policymakers and some unexpectedly weak U.S. economic data indicated that the central bank could slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasuries came off Tuesday’s seven-week lows, rising to 3.081%.
The dollar edged higher against the yen, with USD/JPY changing hands at 112.83 after falling to a three-week low of 112.29 on Tuesday.
The euro pushed higher, with EUR/USD up 0.25% to 1.1398 after dropping 0.71% in the previous session.
The single currency found support from reports that Italy’s government could be open to some budget revisions.
The pound was a touch higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.17% to 1.2810, but was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.8894.
British Prime Minister Theresa May was to travel to Brussels later in the day to discuss Brexit negotiations with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.