Dollar Holds Steady as Markets Await US Inflation Data Clues

The US dollar traded sideways at the start of the Asian session on Wednesday, shrugging off renewed attacks on shipping in critical waterways in the Middle East. The dollar's stability is due to safe-haven demand amidst the ongoing conflict.

Currency markets are awaiting the release of US inflation data later in the day for clues to the direction of Federal Reserve interest rates. The data will be closely watched after last week's softer-than-expected jobs report and a press conference by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh did little to dispel doubts about rate hikes.

The yen was flat against the dollar at 159.275 yen, hovering around its weakest levels of the month despite recent joint intervention by US and Japanese authorities to strengthen the Japanese currency.

Oil prices edged up as trading resumed in Asia on Wednesday, with Brent crude 0.6% higher at $89.40 a barrel after an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.