Investing.com - The dollar pushed higher against against the other major currencies on Wednesday, amid hopes for fresh easing measures by the Bank of China.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.99% at 121.00.
Japan’s Nikkei posted the largest one day percentage gain in seven years on Wednesday after China’s finance ministry said late Tuesday that it would implement fresh measures to stimulate economic growth.
Chinese equities rallied as the announcement alleviated concerns over slowing growth, driving broader gains in regional equity markets and in commodity markets.
The dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.27% at 1.1171.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.10% at 1.5379 but lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF slipping 0.16% to 0.9774.
Sterling came under pressure after the Office for National Statistics said U.K. industrial production fell by 0.4% in July and rose just 0.8% from a year earlier.
U.K. manufacturing production declined 0.8% in July, the largest drop since May 2014 and was 0.5% lower on a year-over-year basis.
A separate report from the ONS showed that the U.K.’s trade gap widened sharply in July. The deficit in goods widened to £11 billion, the largest shortfall since July 2014, as exports tumbled by almost 10%.
The weak data dampened expectations for higher U.K. interest rates.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher, with AUD/USD up 0.24% to 0.7034 and with NZD/USD advancing 0.83% to 0.6396.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.22% to trade at 1.3279 after the Bank of Canada said it was leaving its overnight cash rate unchanged at 0.50%, in line with expectations.
Also Wednesday, data showed that Canada's building permits fell 0.6% in July, compared to expectations for a 5.0% decline.
Canada's housing starts rose by 216.900 units un July, beating expectations for an increase of 190.000.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.32% at 96.14.