Investing.com - The dollar rose to three-week highs against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. home sales data as well as comments from a number of Federal Reserve officials later in the day.
USD/JPY slipped 0.27% to 111.80.
Demand for the safe-haven yen remained supported as oil prices slipped below $32 a barel on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said that production cuts "will not happen".
Separately, Iran also said it had no interest in reducing production after international sanctions against it were lifted, calling a joint Russian/Saudi proposal for major exporters to freeze output "laughable".
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.88% at 1.3899, falling below $1.40 for the first time since March 2009.
Sterling remained under pressure amid fears over the impact on the economy if the outcome of the June 23 referendum leads to a “Brexit”.
The pound has now lost 2.9% this week after several senior members Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party, including London Mayor Boris Johnson, said they were backing the campaign to leave the EU.
The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD dropping 0.34% to 1.0981.
The euro has weakened this week amid fears over the impact of a “Brexit” on the euro zone.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF edged up 0.08% to trade at 0.9921.
Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD declining 0.56% to 0.7164 and with NZD/USD retreating 0.68% to 0.6598.
USD/CAD rose 0.27% to trade at 1.3827.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.32% at 97.77, the highest since February 3.