Investing.com - The dollar struggled to make headway against a basket of the other major currencies on Wednesday amid worries that escalating U.S.-China trade tensions could deal a blow to the global economy and U.S. growth.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 89.84 by 03:15 AM ET (07:15 AM GMT).
Persistent worries over global trade tensions continued to weigh on the outlook for the U.S. currency.
Late on Tuesday, the Trump administration announced 25% tariffs on $50 billion of annual imports from China in an attempt to force changes in Beijing's intellectual property practices.
China's commerce ministry immediately warned it was preparing countermeasures of “equal intensity and scale”, which could be announced as early as Wednesday.
The dollar was slightly lower against the yen, with USD/JPY last at 106.53, not far from an overnight low of 106.40.
The Japanese yen, typically viewed as a safe-haven currency, tends to be sought out by investors during times of political or economic uncertainty.
The euro was almost unchanged against the dollar, with EUR/USD trading at 1.2272.
Investors were looking ahead to data on euro zone inflation for March later in the day, which could bring the prospect of policy normalization by the European Central Bank a little closer.
The pound was a touch higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD last at 1.4068.
Investors were turning their attention to the latest U.S. employment report and comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday.
Signs of increasing wage growth could underline the case for the Fed to raise interest rates at a faster pace.
Expectations of rising rates tend to boost the dollar by making the currency more attractive to yield-seeking investors.