Investing.com - The euro pared back some losses after falling to one-and-a-half month lows against the dollar on Tuesday, amid concerns over Italy’s deepening dispute with the European Union about its proposed budget.
EUR/USD was at 1.1560, off 0.16% for the day by 11:20 AM ET (15:20 GMT) after falling as low as 1.1505 earlier, the weakest level since August 21.
Investor concerns over Italy intensified Tuesday, after the head of the lower house's budget committee said the country would have solved its fiscal problems with its own currency.
The comments added to a war of words with the EU over the populist government’s budget proposal which seeks to increase spending and cut taxes, but would raise Italy's debt and breach EU budget rules.
EU officials have warned its plan to borrow billions of extra euros to fund spending pledges could tip the bloc back into crisis, but Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio insisted that his government will stick to its deficit target of 2.4% of GDP.
The euro was lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.4% to 131.37.
The dollar eased from 10-month highs against the safe haven Japanese currency, with USD/JPY losing 0.25% to trade at 113.63.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% to 95.04 after rising as high as 95.25 earlier.
The pound was lower, with GBP/USD down 0.5% to 1.2974 as investors remained pessimistic about prospects for Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU.