Investing.com - The dollar hit fresh three-week lows against other major currencies on Thursday, as ongoing geopolitical tensions continued to dampen demand for the greenback ahead of the release of U.S. economic reports due later in the day.
EUR/USD climbed 0.50% to 1.0765, just off a three-and-a-half week high of 1.0776 hit overnight.
Sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that the U.S. was looking at ways to pressure North Korea over its nuclear program.
The comments came after North Korean state media warned the Americans of a "super-mighty preemptive strike" and said don't "mess with us."
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who heads Japan for a newly-created bilateral economic dialogue with the U.S., said on Wednesday that Japan has less room to compromise with Washington under a bilateral trade deal.
Investors also remained cautious amid doubts whether President Donald Trump will be able to pass fiscal or tax reforms in the near future.
Market participants were also focusing on the upcoming French presidential election, with the first round voting scheduled on Sunday April 23.
Recent polls in France showed that Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is still in the lead, although the outcome of Sunday’s vote is still too close to call.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD gained 0.47% to 1.2835 not far from Tuesday’s six-month peak of 1.2904.
Sterling remained supported after the British Parliament on Wednesday approved by an overwhelming 522 votes against 13 May’s call for an early election, setting the stage what will define the terms of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union.
USD/JPY added 0.15% to trade at 109.02, while USD/CHF slid 0.32% to 0.9949.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.29% at 0.7520 and with NZD/USD adding 0.17% to 0.7016.
Earlier Thursday, Statistics New Zealand said the consumer price index increased by 1.0% in the first quarter, beating expectations for a 0.8% rise and after a 0.4% gain in the three months to December.
Year-on-year, consumer prices advanced 2.2% in the last quarter, exceeding expectations for an increase of 2.0%.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3480.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.35% at 99.35, the lowest since March 28.