Investing.com – The U.S. dollar steadied after a drubbing the previous day, clawing back losses against safe-haven currencies as China took steps to limit weakness in the yuan and reassured investors that it wouldn’t weaponize its currency in its trade spat with the U.S.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the green against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.15% to 97.63.
The dollar found its footing, led by gains against safe-haven yen and Swiss franc, as demand for safe havens eased somewhat on signs China is unlikely to deliberately weaken the yuan - to offset the impact of the U.S.-Sino trade war - after the People’s Bank of China set the daily currency limit of the yuan at a stronger-than-expected level,
The move comes a day after the Chinese’s central bank allowed the yuan to slip below 7 per dollar – a level it had previously vowed to protect – for the first time since 2008. Traders had feared that further action to weaken the yuan would risk additional tariffs being imposed by the U.S., and lead to a currency war. President Trump on Monday labelled China a “currency manipulator”
USD/JPY rose 0.49% to Y106.47 and USD/CHF climbed 0.41% to 0.977.
GBP/USD also supported the greenback after retreating from a session high of $1.221 to trade at $1.214, up just 0.01%, amid rising fears the U.K. could leave the European Union without a trade deal, referred to as a “hard Brexit.”
Senior EU and U.K. diplomats reportedly left Brussels with the impression that a no-deal Brexit is now the “central scenario” of the new U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to reports in U.K. media.
EUR/USD fell 0.07% to $1.119, while USD/CAD added 0.58% to C$1.329 as the loonie came under pressure amid falling oil prices on fears the US-China trade will hurt oil demand.