The dollar was fluctuating between small gains and losses against a basket of the other major currencies on Thursday as investors awaited an expected vote on the U.S. tax bill later in the day.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 93.76 by 03:40 AM ET (08:40 AM GMT), after having fallen as low as 93.31 on Wednesday, its weakest level since October 26.
The dollar found some support after Politico reported that House Republicans are confident they have the votes to pass a massive rewrite of the U.S. tax code later Thursday.
The vote is expected at an 11:30 AM ET closed-door meeting in the Capitol.
But concerns over the passage of the tax plan persisted after two Republican lawmakers on Wednesday criticized the bill.
The dollar was also boosted after data on Wednesday showed an uptick in underlying U.S. inflation and retail sales, supporting the case for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Annual core inflation rose to 1.8% in October after having stayed at 1.7% in the preceding five months. Retail sales increased 0.2%.
The euro was steady against the dollar, with EUR/USD last at 1.1788, off Wednesday’s one-month highs of 1.1859.
Sterling was also little changed, with GBP/USD at 1.3165.
The dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.21% to 113.12.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was hovering near five-month lows, with AUD/USD at 0.7596 after domestic employment data showed that jobs growth strengthened in October but wage growth remained sluggish.
The New Zealand dollar was lower, with NZD/USD down 0.23% to 0.6857.
