Investing.com - The dollar traded mixed to lower against major global currencies on Wednesday as investors jumped to the sidelines to await the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting.
Continued uncertainty out of Europe and weak trade balance figures out of China helped to bolster the currency somewhat.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was trading up 0.04% at 1.2255.
Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its most recent monetary policy meeting, and many feel voting members may have given more weight to rolling out stimulus measures to jolt the economy and get activity moving again.
Since the downturn, the Fed has launched two rounds of large-scale asset purchases from banks, known as quantitative easing, which weaken the dollar via massive liquidity injections that aim to spur economic activity and hiring.
Talk a third round may be on the way weakened the dollar on Wednesday, especially in wake of a string of weak jobs reports and slumping consumer sentiment figures, among other indicators.
Weak trade figures out of China, however, gave the greenback some support.
China recently reported the nation’s trade surplus widened to a three-year high of USD31.7 billion in June from USD18.7 billion in the previous month.
The country reported that exports rose by 11.3% in June from a year earlier, down from 15.3% in May.
Imports grew by 6.3%, well below expectations of 11.0% and far below 12.7% in the previous month.
Weak import data fueled demand for dollars on fears the Asian giant's economy is cooling, which made the dollar more attractive among those looking for flight to safety.
The euro and other higher-yielding assets saw some support against the dollar on news from a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
Policymakers decided to allocate EUR30 billion in aid for Spain to prop up its banking sector by the end of the month.
Eurozone finance ministers also approved plans to give Spain an extra year to meet deficit-reduction targets, with the deadline now set at 2014.
However, the group has yet to give eurozone bailout funds the green light to invest in Spanish and Italian bond auctions, which kept borrowing costs high in those countries and further kept the euro and other currencies at bay against the greenback.
Currency investors were also waiting for a German court to rule on whether the country's laws complied with eurozone bailout plans and budget rules.
The greenback, meanwhile, was flat against the pound, with GBP/USD trading at 1.5519.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.20% at 79.27, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.03% at 0.9801.
The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.05% at 1.0222, AUD/USD down 0.02% at 1.0189 and NZD/USD up 0.04% at 0.7943.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.05% at 83.52.
The U.S. is to release official data on its trade balance, its latest figures on crude oil stockpiles, and later, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent monetary policy meeting.
Continued uncertainty out of Europe and weak trade balance figures out of China helped to bolster the currency somewhat.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was trading up 0.04% at 1.2255.
Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its most recent monetary policy meeting, and many feel voting members may have given more weight to rolling out stimulus measures to jolt the economy and get activity moving again.
Since the downturn, the Fed has launched two rounds of large-scale asset purchases from banks, known as quantitative easing, which weaken the dollar via massive liquidity injections that aim to spur economic activity and hiring.
Talk a third round may be on the way weakened the dollar on Wednesday, especially in wake of a string of weak jobs reports and slumping consumer sentiment figures, among other indicators.
Weak trade figures out of China, however, gave the greenback some support.
China recently reported the nation’s trade surplus widened to a three-year high of USD31.7 billion in June from USD18.7 billion in the previous month.
The country reported that exports rose by 11.3% in June from a year earlier, down from 15.3% in May.
Imports grew by 6.3%, well below expectations of 11.0% and far below 12.7% in the previous month.
Weak import data fueled demand for dollars on fears the Asian giant's economy is cooling, which made the dollar more attractive among those looking for flight to safety.
The euro and other higher-yielding assets saw some support against the dollar on news from a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
Policymakers decided to allocate EUR30 billion in aid for Spain to prop up its banking sector by the end of the month.
Eurozone finance ministers also approved plans to give Spain an extra year to meet deficit-reduction targets, with the deadline now set at 2014.
However, the group has yet to give eurozone bailout funds the green light to invest in Spanish and Italian bond auctions, which kept borrowing costs high in those countries and further kept the euro and other currencies at bay against the greenback.
Currency investors were also waiting for a German court to rule on whether the country's laws complied with eurozone bailout plans and budget rules.
The greenback, meanwhile, was flat against the pound, with GBP/USD trading at 1.5519.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.20% at 79.27, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.03% at 0.9801.
The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.05% at 1.0222, AUD/USD down 0.02% at 1.0189 and NZD/USD up 0.04% at 0.7943.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.05% at 83.52.
The U.S. is to release official data on its trade balance, its latest figures on crude oil stockpiles, and later, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent monetary policy meeting.