Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower on Thursday as the arrest of a Huawei executive spooked investors and disappointing jobs data dampened sentiment.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.46% to 96.56 as of 10:35 AM ET (15:35 GMT).
Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer at the Chinese smartphone company Huawei was arrested in Canada on an an extradition request by the U.S, which had been investigating whether or not she violated sanctions against Iran.
The arrest happened just one week after President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day trade truce. Investors fear it could derail any potential trade talks between the two countries.
Market sentiment was also dampened by disappointing ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) payrolls data and higher than expected jobless claims.
The dollar was lower against the safe-heaven Japanese yen, with USD/JPY falling 0.78% to 112.30. In times of uncertainty, investors tend to invest in the Japanese yen, which is considered a safe asset during periods of risk aversion.
The pound was higher as the UK braces for a vote on the Brexit draft plan on Dec. 11. GBP/USD rose 0.48% to 1.2794.
The euro was also higher, with EUR/USD up 0.58% to 1.1408.
Elsewhere, NZD/USD slipped 0.06% to 0.6891 while AUD/USD was down 0.56% to 0.7227. The Canadian dollar was also lower, with USD/CAD rising 0.48% to 1.3418.