Investing.com - The safe haven yen was lower on Thursday after news that trade talks between the U.S. and China will resume next month, while the risk sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher.
China's Commerce Ministry said its trade team will consult with their U.S. counterparts in mid-September in preparation for negotiations in early October, and both sides agreed to take actions to create favorable conditions.
Sentiment has been skittish, however, and some analysts sounded a note of caution.
"The U.S. is still going to raise tariffs next month and December, as far as we know," said Joe Capurso, senior currency strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"That's a negative for the world economy and the Chinese economy."
The dollar was 0.1% higher against the yen at 106.51 by 03:42 AM ET (07:42 GMT).
The Australian dollar touched a one-month high of 0.6825 and was last at 0.6817, while the New Zealand dollar hit a one-week high of 0.6383.
The euro was a touch higher at 1.1040 but was weighed down by data showing that German industrial orders fell more than expected in July on weak overseas demand, indicating that the euro area’s largest economy could slip into a recession in the third quarter.
Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index edged down to a one-week low at 98.32.
The British pound was at 1.2241, after its best day against the dollar in more than five months.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government abandoned attempts to block legislation aimed at stopping the country from leaving the European Union without a deal on Oct. 31.
The move paved the way for Johnson being required to ask the EU for a three-month extension to the Brexit deadline, if he fails to reach a renegotiated transition deal with the bloc by the middle of October.
--Reuters contributed to this report