Investing.com - The dollar moved lower against the yen on Tuesday as caution returned to markets ahead of a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid concerns that tensions over the situation in Ukraine could escalate.
USD/JPY touched session lows of 101.35, and was last down 0.40% to 101.35.
President Putin was due to address both houses of the Russian parliament later Tuesday. On Monday President Putin recognized the results of Sunday's referendum in Crimea, which saw a majority of voters chose to split from Ukraine.
The European Union and the U.S. have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions.
EUR/USD slid 0.13% to 1.3903, holding below last week’s two-and-a-half year peaks of 1.3966.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF edged up 0.11% to 0.8742, but remained close to last week’s two-and-a-half year lows of 0.8699.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.21% to 1.6602.
The Australian dollar slipped lower, with AUD/USD losing 0.11% to trade at 0.9077 after the minutes of the Reserve Bank’s March policy meeting expressed concerns over the strong domestic dollar.
However, the minutes reinforced the view that further rate cuts are not on the cards.
The New Zealand dollar and the Canadian dollar were little changed, with NZD/USD dipping 0.02% to 0.8564 and USD/CAD inching down 0.01% to 1.1050.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.08% to 79.56.