Dollar surges

TOKYO: The dollar edged up against its peers, finding support as the latest episode of U.S.-China trade tensions dulled investor risk appetite, with weakness in emerging market currencies also helping lift the greenback.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was a shade higher at 94.748. The index had nudged up about 0.15 percent overnight, ending a four-day losing streak.

The greenback, which tends to attract safe haven bids in times of market turmoil and political tensions, drew its latest swell of support as investors braced for the next round of the U.S.-China trade conflict.

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to quickly ramp up a trade war with China and has told aides he is ready to impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports as soon as a public comment period on the plan ends next week.

"There is an ongoing trend to buy the dollar on the trade friction theme, which has negatively affected emerging market currencies and in turn fuels the dollar´s rise," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.