Investing.com - The dollar was higher against the yen on Wednesday, lifted by hopes that politicians in Washington are close to reaching a deal on the U.S. debt ceiling ahead of Thursday’s deadline to avert a default.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.31% to 98.48.
Senate leaders were to resume negotiations on reopening the government and lifting the federal borrowing limit later Wednesday, after a last minute deal put forward by House Republicans collapsed.
Ratings agency Fitch placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” on Tuesday, saying the political impasse has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
The U.S. Treasury has said that if an agreement to raise the USD16.7 trillion debt ceiling is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
The euro was higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.26% to 1.3560.
The euro was little changed after data released on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
The dollar was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.16% to 1.6022.
Sterling remained well supported after data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
The Office for National Statistics said that the U.K. claimant count fell by 41,700 in September, outstripping expectations for a decline of 25,000 people.
The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.7% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.
The dollar slipped lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.19% to 0.9104.
Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed to lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.05% to 0.9530, NZD/USD advancing 0.32% to 0.8406 and USD/CAD slipping 0.10% to 1.0368.
The New Zealand dollar was boosted after a report showed that consumer price inflation in New Zealand rose 0.9% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% increase, after a 0.2% uptick in the three months to June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.22% to 80.41.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.31% to 98.48.
Senate leaders were to resume negotiations on reopening the government and lifting the federal borrowing limit later Wednesday, after a last minute deal put forward by House Republicans collapsed.
Ratings agency Fitch placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” on Tuesday, saying the political impasse has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
The U.S. Treasury has said that if an agreement to raise the USD16.7 trillion debt ceiling is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
The euro was higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.26% to 1.3560.
The euro was little changed after data released on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
The dollar was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.16% to 1.6022.
Sterling remained well supported after data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
The Office for National Statistics said that the U.K. claimant count fell by 41,700 in September, outstripping expectations for a decline of 25,000 people.
The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.7% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.
The dollar slipped lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.19% to 0.9104.
Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed to lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.05% to 0.9530, NZD/USD advancing 0.32% to 0.8406 and USD/CAD slipping 0.10% to 1.0368.
The New Zealand dollar was boosted after a report showed that consumer price inflation in New Zealand rose 0.9% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% increase, after a 0.2% uptick in the three months to June.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.22% to 80.41.