The dollar edged down on Wednesday as Asian investors reacted to overnight news of attacks in Brussels, though hawkish comments from another U.S. Federal Reserve official underpinned the U.S. currency.
Attacks on Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital, which occurred very late in Tuesday's Asian session, killed dozens and triggered security alerts across western Europe.
The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the U.S. currency against six major rivals, edged down slightly to 95.611.
The euro edged up about 0.1 percent to $1.1218 EUR=, though it was well above its post-attack low of $1.1188.
The dollar inched 0.1 percent lower against the perceived safe-haven yen to 112.26 JPY=. But it remained above Tuesday's low of 111.38 yen as well as a 17-month low of 110.67 touched last Thursday after Fed Chair Janet Yellen took a cautious tone on the timing of interest rate hikes this year.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he expects two more rate increases this year, unless economic data comes in a lot stronger than expected or inflation picks up faster than anticipated.
The Islamic State group has issued an updated communique taking credit for the Brussels attacks and threatening other countries taking part in the anti-IS coalition.
Islamic State (IS) was quick to claim responsibility for bombings at two major transportation hubs in Brussels on Tuesday that left at least 30 people dead.
Wars and depressed crude oil prices have diminished growth prospects for the Middle East and central Asia, and private sector productivity gains are needed to avoid a "new mediocre" for the region, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.
In a new paper, the IMF said that all emerging markets are facing diminished growth prospects over the next five years, but those of the Middle East and Central Asian countries are expected to be 1.25 percentage points below the emerging market and developing country average.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pushing China to disclose data on holdings of derivatives that could shed light on more opaque methods of intervention in the yuan's exchange rate, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Oil will be key for Wall Street on Wednesday as the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to report weekly crude oil inventories mid-morning.
U.S. crude oil futures held lower in late trade Tuesday after reports that the American Petroleum Institute's weekly crude inventory report showed a greater-than-expected build of 8.8 million barrels, according to StreetAccount.
Brent oil prices settled steady on Tuesday after the deadly blasts in Brussels while U.S. crude futures fell, then extended losses in post-settlement trade on industry data showing bigger than expected builds in domestic inventory.
Oil prices fell early as investors fled risk after the attacks in Belgium that killed at least 30 people. [MKTS/GLOB] Brent erased losses and settled a little higher as equity markets reversed losses and safe-havens such as gold and government bonds pulled back from their highs.
U.S. crude, however, settled lower, then extended losses after the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, said in a report after the oil's market settlement that U.S. crude stockpiles rose almost 9 million barrels last week to reach a record high of nearly 532 million.
The stockpile growth reported by the API was nearly 6 million barrels above estimates from analysts polled by Reuters. Official crude inventory data from the U.S. government will be released on Wednesday.
Libya won't attend April oil meeting, wants to boost output
Reference: Straitstimes , CNBC, Reuters
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