Investing.com - The dollar edged weaker against the yen on Wednesday in Asia as Japan trade showed a surprise gain on exports and investors noted the most recent tweet by President Donald Trump signaled he would sign an executive order on Wednesday to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
USD/JPY changed hands at 113.59, down 0.18%, while GBP/USD rose 0.05% to 1.2528 following a court ruling on Tuesday on the procedures the government may take to exit from the European Union trade bloc. USD/CHF rose 0.05% to 1.0013, and USD/CAD fell 0.18% to 1.3135.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.05% to 100.23.
USD/MXN moved after Trump tweeted that he will take executive action to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump has repeatedly claimed Mexico would be forced to pay for the construction.
Prior to the tweet, the U.S. dollar was fetching around 21.4850 pesos and after it was sent, it was garnering as many as 21.56 pesos.That's still below the record high levels over 22 pesos touched earlier this month.
Earlier, data showed Japan's annual exports grew 5.4% in December, the first time in 15 months, led by shipments of car parts and electronics, and well above a forecast of a 1.2% increase. Australia said inflation rose less than expected in the last quarter of 2016, up 0.5% in the fourth-quarter and 1.5% from the previous year. The Reserve Bank of Australia targets an annual inflation rate in the range between 2% to 3%
Overnight, the dollar staged a rebound in the U.S. on Tuesday with sentiment turning more upbeat on economic growth views that should be spurred by tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending under the new administration.
Concerns over Trump’s protectionist policies continued to dominate market sentiment weighed on the currency along with remarks from his nominee for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that an "excessively strong" dollar can have negative short-term impacts on the U.S. economy.
On the economic front, Markit’s preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January beat expectations as new orders expanded at their quickest pace since September 2014. December existing home sales missed expectations, but still closed out 2016 with their best year in a decade.
In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.8% to an annual rate of 5.49 million units, compared to forecasts of a 1.1% decline to 5.52 million.
Sterling retreated as a British Supreme Court ruling that the government will need parliamentary approval before triggering the process the exit the European Union looked unlikely to hamper Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans.