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•The dollar eased against the yen on Wednesday, with the outlook clouded by worries that escalating U.S.-China trade tensions could exert a toll on the global economy and U.S. growth.

At the same time, dollar-selling needs among Japanese players have abated now that Japan’s end-March financial year-end is out of the way, and that could limit the dollar’s downside risk, said Okagawa, who expects the U.S. currency to trade in a 104 yen to 108 yen range in the near term.

The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.1 percent to 90.071.

The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.22

•Analysts say investors are also focused on U.S. payrolls data and comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday, which should help determine the dollar’s direction.

•Japanese government officials are bracing for Donald Trump to get tough in trade talks, and are particularly anxious that the U.S. president could target Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s weak-yen policies.

•China condemned the United States on Wednesday as the Trump administration pushed ahead with plans to slap tariffs on about $50 billion of Chinese industrial and hi-tech products, and vowed imminent countermeasures in the escalating trade dispute.

•Oil prices slipped on Wednesday on expectations for a build-up in U.S. crude inventories, but Russian government comments on prospects for stepping up cooperation with OPEC to coordinate output cuts braked steeper declines.

U.S. WTI crude futures were at $63.36 a barrel at 0208 GMT, down 15 cents, or 0.24 percent, from their previous settlement.

Brent crude futures dipped to $67.94 per barrel, down 18 cents, or 0.26 percent, after it rose 0.7 percent on Tuesday.

•China announced additional tariffs on 106 U.S. products on Wednesday, in a move likely to heighten global concerns of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world's biggest economies.

The effective start date for the new charges will be revealed at a later time, though China's Ministry of Commerce said the tariffs are designed to target up to $50 billion of U.S. products annually.

The 25 percent levy on U.S. imports includes products such as soybeans, cars and whisky, Beijing said.

China's proposed countermeasures prompted U.S. stock index futures to tumble ahead of Wednesday's open. At around 4:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures sank 407 points, indicating a drop of 391 points at the open. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 futures also indicated heavy losses at the open for their respective markets.

Meanwhile, Wednesday's announcement also prompted European stocks to extend losses, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 hitting a session low of 0.8 percent shortly after the news.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC