The dollar plumbed a fresh four-week trough against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, though better-than-expected Chinese import figures helped it climb off session lows.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rivals, edged down 0.1 percent to 93.740 after dropping as low as 93.695, its lowest since May 11.
Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 107.05 yen, after hitting a session low of 106.72 earlier. It remained off the one-month low of 106.35 touched on Monday but still a long way away from levels above 111 yen at the end of May.
Underpinning risk appetite and helping the dollar climb off its lows against the perceived safe-haven yen, data showed that China’s imports beat forecasts in May, adding to hopes that the economy may be stabilising even though exports fell more than expected.
The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1373. It had closed the last two days virtually flat after its 2 percent surge on Friday’s disappointing U.S. non-farm payrolls report that all but quashed expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month.
“A June U.S. rate hike is now out of the question and the focus is whether the Fed provides any hints of a July hike. There are no major U.S. indicators until the Fed’s policy meeting next week, and the dollar is likely to remain bearish until then,” said Junichi Ishikawa, forex analyst at IG Securities in Tokyo.
The Fed concludes a two-day policy meeting on June 15.
The Australian dollar edged up 0.1 percent to $0.7462 after surging more than 1 percent in the previous session to a one-month high of $0.7465 following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to stand pat on monetary policy and hint it was not in a hurry to raise rates.
Chinese dollar-denominated exports declined 4.1 percent in May from a year earlier, compared with the expected drop of 3.6 percent. Imports fell 0.4 percent, less than the expected 6 percent. China’s trade surplus is forecast to hit $50 billion in May.
The New Zealand dollar added 0.3 percent to $0.6999 after scaling a one-month peak of $0.7006 earlier.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is scheduled to announce its policy decision early on Thursday, with the market expecting the central bank to keep monetary policy unchanged.
EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair was trading in the $ 1.1350-75
GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair was trading in the $ 1.4550-60
USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair is trading in the range of $ 106.70-107.40
Based on Reuters materials
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