The U.S. dollar showed minimal movement on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to upcoming U.S. employment data, while closely monitoring trade developments tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff negotiations with major partners, particularly China.
A key deadline set by the Trump administration loomed, requiring countries to present their best trade offers the same day a tariff hike on imported steel and aluminium, raising duties to 50 per cent, took effect.
The White House also indicated that President Trump is expected to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. The call follows renewed accusations from both nations that each has breached a previous agreement aimed at easing tariffs.
While trade tensions remain a dominant theme, economic data has regained influence over the dollar’s movement. The currency dropped 0.8 per cent against major rivals on Monday following weak manufacturing data but rebounded nearly the same amount after Tuesday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. job openings report.
Dollar largely unchanged against other major currencies
As of 0509 GMT, the dollar gained 0.2 per cent to trade at 144.23 yen but remained largely unchanged against other major currencies. The euro held at $1.1370, the British pound at $1.3514, and the Swiss franc at 0.8241 per dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, edged up 0.1 per cent to 99.296.
Markets are now focused on the ADP private employment report due later in the day, ahead of Friday’s crucial non-farm payrolls release.
“Job openings were much stronger than expected,” noted Joseph Capurso, analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, referring to the JOLTS report, a key metric for the Federal Reserve. “The low forecast for ADP means there’s a relatively low bar for the dollar and yields to rise on a positive surprise.”
In other currency movements, the Australian dollar dipped 0.1 per cent to $0.6457 after GDP data revealed sluggish first-quarter growth, reinforcing expectations of further economic stimulus.
The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.3722, with markets anticipating the Bank of Canada will leave interest rates unchanged later in the day.
China’s offshore yuan held steady at 7.1915 per dollar, while South Korea’s won climbed around 0.2 per cent to 1,374.535 per dollar following liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung’s presidential election victory.
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