The U.S. dollar drooped near a three-month low versus major peers on Wednesday while shares in Asia were mixed after the latest round of U.S. tariffs and countermeasures from Canada and China stoked fears of an escalating trade war.
China's yuan was firm in offshore trading following a rally of about 0.7% in the prior session, as annual parliamentary sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) kicked off with Beijing retaining a 5% economic growth goal for 2025.
The euro pushed to a near four-month peak as German political parties agreed to a 500-billion-euro infrastructure fund. Sterling also stood tall near a three-month high.
Crude oil swooned to six-month lows, while bitcoin found its feet around $87,000 following a volatile week.
"Fears about weaker U.S. and global economic activity are manifesting in the markets, with cyclicals driving the sell-off," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com.
"The uncertainty is enough to keep investors cautious, with American businesses and consumers presumably feeling the same."
Australian stocks were down 0.9%, while Japan's Nikkei edged 0.2% lower, flipping from small early gains.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng pointed 0.6% higher.
Overnight, the U.S. S&P 500 slid 1.2%, but futures rose 0.6% on Wednesday.
MSCI's world equity index edged up 0.1%, but remained 1.9% lower for the week.
U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with doubled duties of 20% on Chinese goods, took effect on Tuesday. China and Canada retaliated while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed to respond likewise, without giving details.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against the euro, sterling and four other major counterparts, was little changed at 105.60, after a two-day 1.9% slump that took it as low as 105.49 for the first time since December 6.
The euro rose as high as $1.0637 for the first time since November 13 in the latest session.
Sterling was steady at $1.2786, not far from Tuesday's peak of $1.27995, a level last seen on December 6.
Germany's conservatives and Social Democrats announced proposals to set up the 500-billion-euro fund for infrastructure, and overhaul borrowing rules aimed at increasing defence spending.
China's offshore yuan edged down about 0.1% to 7.2604 per dollar.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 0.6% to $67.83.
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