Investing.com - The dollar was broadly higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday as concerns over a possible U.S. military strike against Syria continued to underpin safe haven demand. During European late morning trade, the dollar recovered from two-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.31% to 97.33, as increased safe haven demand favored the greenback. Expectations for a military response mounted after U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden said Tuesday there was "no doubt" that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians and that it must be held accountable. Meanwhile, concerns over the timing of a reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus eased after data on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer confidence rose more than expected in August, hitting the highest level since January 2008. The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.27% to 1.3356. The dollar rose to two-week highs against the pound, with GBP/USD losing 0.51% to trade at 1.5468. Sterling came under pressure ahead of a speech by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney later in the session. Carney was expected to reiterate the bank’s pledge to keep interest rates on hold at current record low levels until the U.K. unemployment rate falls below 7%, something the bank sees as unlikely to happen for another three years. Recent improved U.K. economic data fuelled expectations that the bank could raise rates before then. The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.20% to 0.9195. Elsewhere, the greenback was stronger against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD falling 0.73% to 0.8917, NZD/USD down 0.60% to 0.7750 and USD/CAD rising 0.24% to 1.0499. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.27% to 81.41. The U.S. was to release data on pending home sales later Wednesday.

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