• The dollar was slightly lower against the yen during Asia trade Wednesday as investors opted to lock in profits after the U.S. currency struggled to test its upside.
The dollar USDJPY, -0.07% slipped to ¥112.04 before climbing back to ¥112.31, compared with ¥112.36 late Tuesday in New York.
• Japan attained its second-biggest current account surplus on record in 2016, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, just days before the U.S. and Japanese leaders meet for talks with trade surpluses and currency valuations expected to be high on the agenda.
The 20.6 trillion yen ($183.63 billion) surplus reflected the trade balance swinging into surplus on cheaper oil, rising foreign tourists arrivals creating a record travel surplus, and hefty foreign income from overseas investments.
• Oil prices declined on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's more than 1 percent drop after data showed a build-up in U.S. crude inventory. Reuters reported weekly data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated U.S. crude stockpiles surged by 14.2 million barrels last week.
U.S. crude fell 0.79 percent to $51.76 a barrel by 4:15 p.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday, climbing from an earlier low of $51.22, while global benchmark Brent lost 0.49 percent to $54.78.
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