WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar advanced against major currencies on Wednesday, recovering some of its recent losses, as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, due next week.
The greenback was also supported by U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that he hopes U.S. and China could eventually reach a deal.
Trump had suggested on Tuesday that he has 'no interest' in negotiating unless China agrees to come back to the table to discuss previous terms of a deal he has claimed was nearly complete.
He also said that he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit and warned that he will impose new tariffs on Chinese goods if his counterpart does not attend.
The dollar index rose to 97.0, gaining about 0.32% in the process.
The euro was down more than 0.3% at $1.1289, compared to $1.1328 overnight. The eurozone currency was weak, weighed down by comments from Trump that he was considering sanctions over Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project. He also warned Germany for its dependence on Russia for Energy.
Against British Pound Sterling, the greenback gained 0.3%, strengthening to $1.2685 a unit of sterling.
The Japanese yen was little changed against the dollar in late afternoon trades, after having advanced to a high of 108.22 earlier in the day.
The dollar was up 0.5% and 0.43% against the Aussie and the loonie, with the respective pairs trading at at 0.6927 and 1.3341.
The dollar was up against Swiss franc as well, strengthening to 0.9956, up 0.32% from previous close.
In U.S. economic news, a report from the Labor Department said its consumer price index inched up by 0.1% in May after rising by 0.3% in April. The uptick in prices matched economist estimates.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also edged up by 0.1% for the fourth consecutive month, while economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.2%.
The report also showed a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth, with the headline index up by 1.8% year-over-year in May compared to the 2% increase in April.
The annual rate of core consumer price growth also slowed to 2% in May from 2.1% in April.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department's monthly budget review said the U.S. budget deficit widened to $738.6 billion in the first eight months of the fiscal year, a $206 billion increase from a year earlier, despite a revenue boost from President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported merchandise.
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