Investing.com - The dollar drifted lower against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as trade remained subdued with financial centers in Europe reopening following the long Easter weekend.
USD/JPY dipped 0.07% to 102.55, coming off Monday’s highs of 102.73, the strongest level since April 8.
The yen weakened on Monday after data showed that Japan’s trade deficit widened to ¥1.45 trillion in March, the largest ever for the month and much larger than the forecast for a deficit of ¥1.27 trillion.
The weak data added to pressure on the Bank of Japan to step up stimulus measures.
The euro pushed higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to 1.3808.
Sterling was trading close to four-and-a-half year highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD up 0.11% to 1.6810, not far from the peaks of 1.6840 reached last Thursday.
Demand for sterling continued to be underpinned after data last week showing that the U.K. unemployment rate fell to a five year low in the three months to February fuelled expectations for a rate hike by the Bank of England in the first quarter of next year.
The Swiss franc inched higher, with USD/CHF slipping 0.10% to trade at 0.8842.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars moved higher, with AUD/USD climbing 0.31% to 0.9356 and NZD/USD up 0.15% to 0.8582.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar drifted lower, with USD/CAD edging up 0.06% to 1.1019.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.09% to 79.96.
