By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The dollar index edged higher against major rivals in Asian trading hours on Wednesday, with markets subdued on a U.S holiday.
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.08% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, rose to 81.893, from 81.796 in late North American trading on Tuesday.
“Ranges have been reasonably tight with pairs showing a small bias toward U.S. dollar gains,” said strategists at RBC Capital Markets.
Currency markets were in a midweek lull amid the U.S. Independence Day holiday, they said, and ahead of a busy Thursday and Friday.
U.S. jobs data is due out Friday, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will hold interest rate meetings on Thursday.
The euro EURUSD -0.1101% softened to $1.2589, from $1.2607, while the British pound GBPUSD -0.1656% traded at $1.5667, from $1.5699.
Against the Japanese yen USDJPY -0.0441% , the dollar bought 79.75 yen, compared to ¥79.86.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.1142% traded at $1.0287, broadly steady compared to $1.0289 in late trading on Tuesday, supported by stronger retail sales figures. Read more on retail sales.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
