Investing.com - The dollar held steady against other major currencies on Wednesday, amid ongoing political turmoil in the U.S. and as investors avoided risky assets ahead of Thursday’s U.K. election and the European Central Bank’s policy decision.
EUR/USD edged down 0.12% to 1.1266.
Sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable ahead of former FBI Director James Comey's testimony to a Senate committee on Thursday.
Investors are fearful that the Trump administration may be further damaged by any revelations that could emerge when Comey testifies about Russia’s alleged involvement in the U.S. election.
In the euro zone, expectations are growing that the ECB could strike a less dovish tone at its meeting on Thursday after recent economic reports indicated that the recovery in the euro area is deepening.
Market participants were also gearing up for the first round of French parliamentary elections on Sunday. The latest polls show that the party of President Emmanuel Macron is set to win the biggest parliamentary majority since 1968.
GBP/USD little changed at 1.2909.
While pollsters still expect British Prime Minister Theresa May to win the most seats in the Thursday election, a tight result could throw the country into political deadlock just days before formal Brexit talks with the European Union are due to begin on June 19.
USD/JPY fell 0.23% to 109.16, while USD/CHF eased up 0.08% to trade at 0.9627.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.60% at 0.7553 and with NZD/USD adding 0.18% to 0.7198.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier said gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the first quarter, beating expectations for an uptick of 0.2% and after a growth rate of 1.1% in the last quarter of 2016.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.16% to trade at 1.3433, the lowest since May 29.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 96.53, not far from Tuesday’s seven-month low of 96.47.