Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the other major currencies on Wednesday as market participants looked ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting and a speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the trading day.
During European morning trade, the dollar pulled away from three-month highs against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.30% to 1.2817.
Market sentiment was boosted as weak Chinese trade data for June prompted speculation over the possibility of further monetary easing by Beijing.
Official data on Wednesday showed that Chinese exports fell unexpectedly last month, fuelling concerns over a slowdown in global demand. Imports were also lower, indicating that domestic demand was weakening.
The euro looked likely to remain under pressure after a senior European Central Bank policymaker said Tuesday that the bank’s forward guidance on interest rates extended beyond 12 months.
Meanwhile, investors trimmed back expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon start to unwind stimulus measures ahead of the central bank’s June meeting minutes and a closely watched speech by Ben Bernanke later Wednesday.
The dollar eased back from three-year highs against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.16% to 1.4890.
The pound dropped to its lowest since June 2010 against the dollar on Tuesday after unexpectedly weak U.K. manufacturing data increased the likelihood of further easing by the Bank of England.
The dollar was sharply lower against the safe haven yen, with USD/JPY dropping 1.17% to 99.95.
The dollar was also weaker against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.52% to 0.9678.
The greenback was mixed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD climbing 0.44% to 0.9215, NZD/USD dipping 0.01% to 0.7853 and USD/CAD slipping 0.12% to 1.0513.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.46% to 84.47.
