Dollar stalls

TOKYO: The dollar stalled on Wednesday as global trade tensions remained elevated, with U.S. President Donald Trump discussing joining forces with Germany to counter China´s economic practices.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a group of six major currencies, dipped 0.1 percent to 89.291 .

It had gained about 0.34 percent overnight, pulling away from a five-week low of 88.942.The dollar recovered slightly on hopes that negotiations between the United States and China would produce a compromise and avoid a full-blown trade war.

But the White House said that Trump had discussed trade practices with China in calls on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which could lead to an escalation of trade tensions.

The U.S. currency was 0.2 percent higher at 105.530 yen. It had been pushed down from a high near 106.000 overnight after a slide in U.S. stocks and Treasury yields, but as fears of a global trade war faded it rebounded from the 16-month low of 104.560 yen set on Monday. "The dollar lost some traction as equity markets sank following the latest media report on U.S. trade policy," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.