The greenback was lifted as long-term U.S. Treasury yields bounced from three-month lows.
The pound suffered further on Tuesday on media reports that May's parliamentary colleagues believed they had sufficient numbers to mount a no-confidence vote in her leadership.
The British currency was little changed at $1.2495 after dropping to $1.2480 overnight, its weakest since April 2017. The currency has lost 1.8 percent this week.
The euro was a shade higher at $1.1333 after shedding 0.3 percent the previous day.
The dollar was a shade higher against the Japanese yen at 113.49 after touching a one-week peak of 113.52.
China's yuan was firmer in offshore trade at 6.886 to the dollar, extending gains from the previous day.
The yuan firmed on Tuesday on news that Beijing and Washington were discussing the next steps in their trade talks.
• The inflation data this week will be particularly important for translating the dovish tinge to recent Fedspeak into potential changes in the expected path for the fed funds rate in the December 19 SEP.
We expect headline CPI to be dragged down by the negative energy impulse for much of next year and to underperform core CPI.
• News of a vote of no confidence against Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday pushed the cost of insuring UK government debt against default to its highest since the country’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
Confirmation of the vote lifted 5-year UK Credit Default Swaps, which traders use as a hedge against uncertainty, to 40 basis points and up from around 31basis points at the start of December, data from Markit showed.
The CDS level had spiked to 45 basis points the day after the June 23 2016 Brexit vote
• Oil continuing its familiar sideways pattern, WTI getting comfy near $52.00
WTI continues to cycle the handle near 52.00, as recent market fundamentals have seen crude barrels get hung up on this week's consolidation, which carried over from last Friday's lows near 49.30, and expectations that US production will continue to hold near all-time highs, while the OPEC+ conglomerate gears up for 2019 production cuts to the tune of 1.2 million barrels per day.
• Oil prices climbed by around 1 percent on Wednesday amid a stock market rebound and on expectations that an OPEC-led output cut for 2019 would stabilize the supply-demand balance.
Disruptions to Libyan crude exports after local militia seized the country’s biggest oilfield, El Sharara, were also buoying prices, traders said.
International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $60.86 per barrel at 0543 GMT, up 66 cents, or 1.1 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $52.22 per barrel, up 57 cents, or 1.1 percent.
Reference: Reuters,CNBC
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