Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. trade and service sector data due later in the day, as well as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, expected on Wednesday.
USD/JPY was down 0.80% at a 17-month low of 110.45.
The dollar remained under pressure against the yen after last Friday’s strong U.S. jobs report did little to alter the view that the Fed will stick to a cautious approach on rate hikes.
Despite the steady pace of jobs growth few investors expect the Fed to hike rates more quickly after recent dovish comments by Chair Janet Yellen.
Lower interest rates make the dollar less attractive to yield seeking investors.
Meanwhile, the safe-haven yen was boosted as oil prices fell for a third straight session, hitting one-month lows.
The yen’s gains fueled speculation over how much higher the currency can climb before Japanese officials act to weaken the currency.
EUR/USD slipped 0.23% to trade at 1.1364.
Data earlier showed that service sector activity in the euro zone edged lower in March.
The services purchasing managers’ index ticked down to 53.1 for March from 53.3 in February and lower than the preliminary estimate of 54.0.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.35% at 1.4211 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9589.
In the U.K., research group Markit said its services PMI rose to 53.7 last month from a reading of 52.7 in February that was close to a three-year low. Analysts had expected the index to increase to 53.7 in March.
Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.72% at 0.7551 and with NZD/USD declining 0.88% to 0.6773.
In a widely expected move, the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged at 2.00% on Tueaday, but signaled the possibility for additional rate cuts in the future.
At the same time, data showed that Australia’s trade deficit widened to A$3.410 billion in February from an upwardly revised deficit of A$3.156 billion in January. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to A$2.600 billion in February.
USD/CAD rose 0.36% to trade at 1.3134.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.14% at 94.72, still close to last week’s five-and-a-half month low of 94.30.