Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was little changed on Wednesday morning in Asian trade as trade concerns eased somewhat. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) sets the weakest yuan mid-point rate today since December 25, 2017, a move seen as China’s way of absorbing the shocks of the ongoing U.S.- China trade spat.
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against six major currencies stood at 94.30 on Wednesday morning at 11:54AM (3:54GMT), down 0.01%. The index fell to a low point of 93.94 on Monday over worries of escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and its trade partners, but a modest easing in concerns slightly revived risk appetite.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested during a meeting with lawmakers that his administration may switch to foreign investment reviews under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States instead of imposing new limits on Chinese investment in U.S. technology.
The PBOC set the yuan reference rate at 6.5569 – the weakest fix since last December- versus Tuesday’s 6.5180.
The yuan continued to lose ground against the dollar. The USD/CNY pair was trading at 6.5954, up 0.24%. Last Sunday, the Chinese central bank announced the injection of USD100 billion into the economy by reducing the Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR) for banks to help the economy cope up with the pressures of a trade war with the U.S.
The sliding yuan dragged Aussie lower with it, too. The AUD/USD pair slipped 0.18% and was trading at 0.7379 on Wednesday morning.
The Australian dollar is widely considered as a proxy for China. The AUD/USD pair will likely track the action of the yuan as the U.S.- China trade battle develops.
The USD/JPY pair dropped 0.14% and was trading at 109.91. Safe haven currency yen is often in demand at times of market turmoil and political tensions.