© Reuters. The dollar is advancing in spite of new trade tensions
Investing.com – The dollar rose slightly against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, but gains were capped after the United States have announced that they are going to increase in chinese imports of $ 200 billion, intensifying the commercial exchanges between Washington and Beijing.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.11% to 93,94 to 03h54 (07h54 GMT).
The us trade representative Robert Lighthizer, said that the United States acted this way because China had not given prior warnings to put an end to unfair commercial practices.
The news about the additional rates have fuelled fears of a trade war a few days after that the United States has imposed tariffs of 25% on $ 34 billion of chinese imports, and Beijing has responded by applying tariffs equivalent to the same amount of u.s. imports.
The rates have fuelled fears that the two largest economies in the world to be able to enter in a trade war, which could undermine global growth, according to investors.
The uncertainty surrounding the future of the free trade Agreement the north american and the concerns relating to the rights of customs administration Trump has imposed upon the european trading partners have also drawn the attention of investors.
The dollar was little changed versus the yen, with the USD / JPY to 111.06, is now below the highest of the seven weeks of 111.35 reached on Tuesday.
The japanese currency is often sought by investors as a safe haven in times of geopolitical tensions and turbulence in the markets.
The euro fell 0.1% to 1,1733. The pound was also slightly lower, with the GBP / USD at 1.3270.
The australian dollar, sensitive to the trade, has collapsed, with the AUD / USD losing 0.55 percent to trade at 0,7419.
