Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as concerns over global geopolitical tensions continued to dampen demand for riskier assets.
USD/JPY declined 0.54% to 118.42.
Investors remained cautious after North Korea confirmed on Wednesday that it had conducted a nuclear test and said that it won't give up nuclear capability unless U.S. abandons its hostile foreign policy towards the country.
Markets were also jittey amid growing tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, following the execution of a prominent Saudi Shia cleric.
Meanwhile, investors were eyeing the release of U.S. employment and trade balance reports, as well as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting due later in the day, for potential hints on the U.S. central bank’s next steps.
EUR/USD edged down 0.12% at 1.0734.
In the euro zone, Markit earlier said that its services purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.2 in December from 53.9 the previous month, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
Germany’s services PMI rose to 56.0 last month from 55.4 in November, while the French services PMI fell to 49.8 from 50.0.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.10% at 1.4657 and with USD/CHF adding 0.11% to 1.0101.
Markit said its U.K. services PMI fell to 55.5 last month from a reading of 55.9 in November. Analysts had expected the index to dip to 55.6 in December.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 1.33% at 0.7067 and with NZD/USD retreating 0.96% to 0.6639.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.73% to trade at a 12-year high of 1.4095.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.10% at 99.56.