Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Wednesday, after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports as concerns over global geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on demand for riskier assets.
USD/JPY was down 0.27% at 118.74.
The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index fell to a 20-month low of 55.3 last month from 55.9 in November, missing forecasts for a reading of 56.0.
In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau said factory orders decreased by 0.2% in November, matching forecasts.
The data came after payroll processing firm ADP reported that non-farm private employment rose by 257,000 last month, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 192,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $42.37 billion in November from a revised deficit of $44.58 billion in October. Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to narrow to $44.0 billion in November.
Meanwhile, 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.
EUR/USD was steady at 1.0749, off lows of 1.0711 hit earlier in the session.
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 0.42% at 1.4611 and with USD/CHF adding 0.09% to 1.0094.
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 1.19% at 0.7077 and with NZD/USD retreating 0.87% to 0.6646.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.51% to trade at a 12-year high of 1.4063, even after data showed that Canada’s trade deficit narrowed to C$1.99 billion in November from a revised deficit of C$2.49 billion in October.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to C$2.60 billion in November.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 99.52, after rising to one-month highs of 99.73 earlier in the session.