Investing.com - The yen was weaker on Wednesday as a cautious risk-on mood dampened safe haven demand, while the euro was steady ahead of the upcoming European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
ECB policymakers are widely is expected to unveil a fresh wave of stimulus measures to shore up growth and inflation in the euro area economy, which has been hit by the escalating U.S.-China trade war and Brexit.
The ECB could set the tone for upcoming rate-setting decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan next week, and for the broader global risk appetite.
But concerns have been building that global central banks are reaching the limits of their stimulus options, especially those with negative interest rates and sub-zero long-term sovereign bond yields.
"Given the chance that the ECB fails to match market expectations for easing policy, the balance of risks favors higher EUR/USD and European FX outperformance," ING forex strategists said in an overnight note.
The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar at 1.1043 by 02:38 AM ET (06:38GMT).
The dollar pushed higher against the yen, climbing 0.25% to 107.78.
Much of the positive mood in recent days has been driven by optimism that high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators next month can deliver some sort of trade-war breakthrough.
That was tamped down somewhat by White House trade advisor Peter Navarro on Tuesday, when he urged patience about resolving the two-year trade dispute between the world's two largest economies and said to "let the process take its course."
The British pound has managed to hold on to last week's gains after British parliament passed a law compelling Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek a delay to the Oct. 31 date for leaving the European Union. Sterling last traded at 1.2365.
--Reuters contributed to this report