By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar clung to modest gains on Wednesday after bouncing from 15-month lows, benefiting from a pause in selling of the battered currency as investors begin positioning for key events this week, notably Friday's U.S. employment report.
The U.S. currency was 0.1 percent higher at 110.490 yen
The euro was unchanged at $1.1803
The dollar index against a basket of major currencies was steady at 93.039 (DXY) after bouncing from 92.777, its lowest since May 2016.
The greenback has been weighed down by political turmoil gripping Washington and largely uninspiring U.S. economic data, which is adding to uncertainty about the pace of future Federal Reserve policy tightening.
"The dollar has already weakened significantly, especially against its European counterpart, reaching a point where some participants began buying back the currency ahead of Friday's U.S. employment data," said Shin Kadota, senior strategist at Barclays (LON:BARC) in Tokyo.
"But these are mere position adjustments before the U.S. jobs data and the bearish trend for the dollar still remains intact," Kadota added.
The euro has gained about 12 percent against the dollar so far this year.
In addition to the political risks and monetary policy uncertainty that have plagued its U.S. peer, the common currency has drawn support from expectations that the European Central Bank would eventually begin phasing out its easy policy.
For potential impact on the dollar, the market awaited the U.S. ADP jobs report and comments by San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Cleveland Fed chief Loretta Mester due later in the session.
The Canadian dollar struggled after being hit by a slide in crude oil prices.
The loonie extended its overnight slide to trade at C$1.2545
The Australian dollar, another commodity-linked currency, was down 0.1 percent at $0.7961
The New Zealand dollar was down 0.5 percent at a one-week low of $0.7427