By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The dollar edged higher against major rivals Wednesday, with talks in Greece set to resume later in the day.
The dollar index DXY -0.12% , which measures the performance of the U.S. currency against six other units, traded at 78.572, up modestly from 78.552 in late North American trading Tuesday.
The dollar had retreated a bit on Tuesday after reports that Greek political leaders were near to final agreement on terms of a deal that would enable the country to receive its next allotment of rescue funds.
The talks were set to resume later Wednesday.
Currency markets have seen “general malaise” as traders await an outcome to the Greek debt talks, said strategists at Credit Agricole.
“The conflicting forces of firming U.S. economic data on the one hand and uncertainties in Greece on the other have left market participants in a bind,” they said, speaking about the U.S. dollar.
“We look for the U.S dollar index to consolidate around the 79 level over the short term,” the strategists said.
The euro EURUSD +0.09% traded at $1.3243, down from $1.3256 in late trading on Tuesday, while the British pound GBPUSD +0.06% reached $1.5891, slipping from $1.5901.
Against the Japanese yen USDJPY +0.34% , the dollar bought ÂĄ77.01, up from ÂĄ76.79 in late trading on Tuesday.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.18% traded at $1.0788, easing from $1.0799 in late North American trading on Tuesday.
The Australian currency touched a high not seen since the beginning of August on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly kept its key cash rate on hold at 4.25%. See report on Australian policy decision.
