eased 0.5% with investors still disappointed by the extent of Tuesday's rate cuts, which also saw the yuan hit its lowest for the year.Elsewhere in currencies, the battered Japanese yen won some respite as risk aversion prompted profit-taking on very crowded short positions. The currency has been falling for weeks as the Bank of Japan doggedly defended its super easy policies.
That lack of urgency should limit any bounce in the yen and kept the dollar underpinned at 141.56 yen , only just off Tuesday's seven-month high of 142.26. The euro, likewise, steadied at 154.54 yen , after dipping from a peak of 155.37. The single currency was flat on the dollar at $1.0965 , as was sterling at $1.2760 .
The pound faces a major test from data on UK consumer prices later in the day, where any upside surprise would add to pressure for the Bank of England to hike by an outsized 50 basis points at its policy meeting on Thursday."We look for the BoE to hike 25bps on Thursday, but given that recent data have surprised to the upside, we see a good case for a 50bp hike," wrote analysts at JPMorgan in a note.
Oil prices edged higher after a couple of sessions of losses, still struggling with concerns about Chinese demand absent a sizable stimulus package.Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
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