Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against the euro on Tuesday and was steady against the yen in rangebound trade after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy on hold and give no sign that further easing is on the way.
EUR/USD slipped 0.14% to 1.3857, but was still supported close to Friday’s two-and-a-half year peaks of 1.3915.
Demand for the euro continued to be underpinned after the European Central Bank last week declined to indicate that any further easing measure are on the cards.
USD/JPY was last up 0.04% to 103.31, and was moving in a range of 103.41 and 103.18.
The BoJ maintained its pledge to expand the monetary base at a pace of ¥60 trillion to ¥70 trillion per year on Tuesday. The central bank also stuck to the view that economic growth and inflation are moving in line with forecasts.
Data on Monday showing that Japan posted record current account deficit of ¥1.589 trillion in January and fourth quarter growth was revised down revived concerns over the fragile economic recovery.
Investors remained cautious in the wake of a selloff in risk assets on Monday, after unexpectedly weak trade data from China raised fresh concerns over the strength of the world’s second-largest economy.
Markets were also warily eyeing the ongoing standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
Elsewhere, the dollar was slightly higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD sliding 0.12% to 1.6623 and USD/CHF rising 0.15% to 0.8791.
The Australian dollar moved higher, with AUD/USD climbing 0.16% to 0.9034, moving off the previous session’s lows of 0.9011. Meanwhile, NZD/USD rose 0.15% to 0.8484.
The U.S. dollar pushed higher against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD rising 0.17% to 1.1124.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.14% to 79.98.