Investing.com - The dollar ticked higher against a currency basket on Wednesday, as concerns over global trade tensions supported safe-haven demand for the greenback.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was 0.1% higher at 95.15 by 03:30 AM ET (08:30 AM GMT).
Investors remained focused on the U.S.- China trade dispute amid fears that an escalation could be imminent.
China will ask the World Trade Organization next week for permission to impose sanctions on the U.S. for Washington's non-compliance with a ruling in a dispute over U.S. dumping duties.
This comes after President Donald Trump announced Friday that there could more trade tariffs against Beijing totaling $267 billion.
The Australian dollar, seen as a proxy for global growth due to the nation's significant trade exposure to China, dipped 0.1% to 0.7110 (AUD/USD), not far from a 2-1/2-year low of 0.7094 touched on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the greenback was slightly lower against its Canadian counterpart (USD/CAD) after sources said Canada was ready to make a concession to the U.S. to resolve their talks over reworking the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of Ottawa's negotiating strategy said overnight Ottawa was ready to offer the United States limited access to the Canadian dairy market as a concession in negotiations to remake NAFTA.
Canada's protected dairy industry is a major sticking point in NAFTA talks between the two countries. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland returned to Washington on Tuesday for talks aimed at rescuing NAFTA ahead of a looming Oct. 1 deadline.
Elsewhere, the British pound was down 0.2% at 1.3010 (GBP/USD) after the BBC reported a group of about 50 lawmakers in Prime Minister Theresa May's government had met to discuss how and when they could force her out of her job.
The euro also edged lower against the U.S. currency, with EUR/USD dipping 0.15% to 1.1587.