Investing.com - The dollar slid lower against a currency basket on Wednesday and the safe haven yen found support as U.S. President Donald Trump’s shock firing of FBI Director James Comey saw an uptick in risk aversion.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.12% at 99.33 by 07.41 GMT, retreating from Tuesday’s three-week high of 99.56.
Trump fired Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, citing his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server.
Comey had been leading the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in last year’s election. His dismissal saw Democrats immediately accuse Trump of having political motives.
The dollar was a touch lower against the yen, with USD/JPY at 113.96, off an overnight high of 114.32, which was the highest since March 15.
Demand for the yen was also underpinned by fears that North Korea could be preparing to conduct a fresh nuclear test.
EUR/JPY was up 0.13% to 123.13, holding below Monday's one-year high of 124.58.
The euro also ticked higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to 1.0891, re-approaching the six month high of 1.1021 set on Monday after of Emmanuel Macron’s convincing win in the French presidential election.
The single currency remained supported by indications of an improving economic outlook in Europe and as worries over political risk faded.
Recent economic reports have indicated that the economic recovery in the euro area is gathering momentum, which is expected to give the European Central Bank more room to tighten monetary policy before the end of the year.
ECB President Mario Draghi was scheduled to speak at the Dutch House of Representatives later in the day.
Investors were waiting to see if he adopts a more optimistic tone on the euro-area economy in light of recent upbeat economic reports.