Investing.com - The dollar steadied against a currency basket on Tuesday as markets regained composure after remarks by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro helped ease investor concerns about U.S. trade policy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, edged up to 0.94.00 by 02:50 AM ET (06:50 AM GMT) after ending the previous session down 0.24%.
The greenback had been pressured lower as long-term U.S. Treasury yields slid amid heightened risk aversion in financial markets.
Speaking Monday, Navarro indicated that plans to bar Chinese companies from investing in U.S. technology firms won’t be as damaging to the economy as markets are anticipating.
The Treasury Department is due to announce restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S. by Friday.
Such a move would counter a Chinese initiative to be a global leader in technology and mark another escalation in the trade conflict between Washington and Beijing, following the threat of tit-for-tat tariffs.
Besides the trade dispute with China, U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up trade tensions with the European Union by threatening tariffs on cars imported from the bloc.
The dollar was a touch lower against the yen, with USD/JPY last at 109.63, having fallen to a two-week low of 109.36 on Monday.
The safe haven yen is often sought by investors in times of geopolitical tensions and market turmoil.
The euro was little changed, with EUR/USD at 1.1699 after edging up to a two-week high of 1.1720 overnight.
Sterling was also holding steady, with GBP/USD at 1.3281.