Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious amid mounting tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.
The safe-haven yen remained higher, with USD/JPY down 0.25% at 109.44, while USD/CHF added 0.21% to trade at 0.9601, off session lows of 0.9545.
Investors were still cautious following North Korea's latest provocation, when it conducted over the weekend a test of a hydrogen bomb intended to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis on Sunday warned North Korea that any threat to the U.S. or its allies would be met with a “massive military response”.
On Monday, South Korea's defense ministry said it was still seeing signs that Pyongyang plans to launch more ballistic missiles.
EUR/USD edged down 0.12% to 1.1882, while GBP/USD held steady at 1.2923 after data showed that activity in the UK service sector dropped more than expected in August, hitting an 11-month low.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher, with AUD/USD up 0.30% at 0.7968 and with NZD/USD gaining 0.35% to 0.7186.
In widely expected move, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its benchmark interest rate at 1.50% on Tuesday.
Commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Philip Lowe said recent data had been consistent with the bank's expectation that growth in the economy would gradually pick up in the coming year.
Separately, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the current account surplus widened to A$9.6 billion in the second quarter from a revised A$4.8 billion in the first quarter of the year. Analysts had expected the current account surplus to hit A$8.1 billion in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD slipped 0.10% to trade at 1.2400, hovering close to Friday's more than two-year low of 1.2339.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 92.61 by 05:20 a.m. ET (09:20 GMT).