Investing.com - The U.S. dollar inched up on Wednesday in Asia after President Donald Trump said Washington and Beijing are in the “final throes of a very important deal,” giving hopes that the two sides could soon sign a deal to put a hold on their 16-month trade spat.
However, Trump also reiterated Washington's support for protesters in Hong Kong, a potential huge sore point with China.
“I’m holding it up because it’s got to be a good deal,” he said in an interview with Fox News. “We can’t make a deal that’s like, even. We have to make a deal where we do much better, because we have to catch up.”
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that the two countries had phone calls this week and had “reached consensus on properly resolving relevant issues”, but did not provide any further details.
The call was later confirmed by U.S. officials. But they also said that obstacles still remain.
The U.S. Dollar Index Futures inched up 0.1% to 98.270 by 12:40 AM ET (04:40 GMT).
On the data front, U.S. consumer confidence fell for a fourth straight month in November despite expectations of a small rebound.
U.S. consumer spending data is due later in the day, along with GDP, jobless claims and durable goods.
The U.S. equity and bond markets will be shut on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The EUR/USD pair slipped 0.1% to 1.1008. Euro area inflation for October is due on Friday.
Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair also inched down 0.1% to 1.2851.
The USD/JPY pair climbed 0.1% to 109.14. The AUD/USD pair fell 0.2% to 0.6770.