By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The dollar retreated a touch in Asian trading hours on Wednesday, a day after investors turned to the U.S. currency for its safe-haven appeal.
The ICE dollar index DXY -0.10% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, reached 79.711, slightly down from 79.843 in late North American trading on Tuesday.
The dollar gained on Tuesday as worries about the success of Greece’s upcoming private-sector bond swap added to existing concerns about the health of the global economy.
“No one has a clue about how the Greek bond swap will play out but the one thing that is certain is the potential increase in volatility,” said Kathy Lien at GFT Forex.
“Concerns about Greece and the outcome of this week’s bond swap offer have wrecked havoc on the financial markets,” she added.
The bond swap deadline is Thursday.
Still, the euro EURUSD +0.21% gained to $1.3141, from $1.3111 in late trading Tuesday.
“The currency has lost plenty of ground over recent days but will likely consolidate ahead of the outcome of the [Greek] PSI,” said strategists at Credit Agricole.
“Direction will then depend on whether there has been sufficient voluntary participation by bond holders to avoid forcing private sector involvement,” they added.
The common currency EURJPY +0.06% bought 106.09 yen, from ¥105.97 late the previous day.
The dollar USDJPY -0.16% bought ¥80.73 from ¥80.81, while the British pound GBPUSD +0.08% rose to $1.5727 against the dollar from $1.5711.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.12% traded at $1.0542, from $1.0533, recovering slightly after the release of a weaker-than-expected gross domestic product reading sent the currency lower. Read more on Australian GDP.
On Tuesday, the Australian dollar lost 1.4% versus its U.S. counterpart to hit a low not seen in more than a month.
