Investing.com - The dollar held onto gains against the other major currencies in quiet trade on Tuesday, as ongoing concerns over volatility in China and declining oil prices continued to dominate sentiment.
USD/JPY held steady at 117.8é, easing off Monday’s more than four-month trough of 116.68.
Crude oil prices fell to fresh 12-year lows on Tuesday amid concerns that slowing global demand is fueling a massive supply glut.
Investors also remained concerned over the extent of the economic slowdown in China, following a steep selloff in Chinese stocks and a renewed devaluation in the yuan since the start of the year.
Shares in China closed higher on Tuesday, after Beijing stepped up measures to support the yuan. China’s central bank guided the yuan higher for a third day, but uncertainty over Beijing’s currency policy persisted.
EUR/USD slipped 0.11% lower to 1.0847.
Elsewhere, the dollar pushed higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 1.02% at fresh five-year lows of 1.4395, and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 1.0020.
Sterling weakened after the U.K. Office for National Statistics said industrial production fell 0.7% in November from the previous month, compared with forecasts for a flat reading. It was the biggest drop since January 2013.
Manufacturing production fell 0.4% compared with October, well below forecasts for a 0.1% increase.
On a year-over-year basis, manufacturing production contracted by 1.2%, its fourth consecutive month of contraction. Economists had forecast a more modest decline of 0.8%.
Sterling also remained under heavy selling pressure amid concerns that the Bank of England will signal that rates are likely to remain on hold for longer after its policy meeting on Thursday.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.6995, while NZD/USD slid 0.37% to 0.6534.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.24% to trade at 1.4247, re-approaching fresh 12-1/2 year highs of 1.4269 overnight.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.22% at 99.14.