Hot Now: Dollar catches breath

TOKYO: The dollar nursed losses on Wednesday after skidding to a 10-month low against a currency basket as Republican legislators´ failure to pass a stalled healthcare bill raised fears for the rest of President Donald´s Trump reform agenda.

Republican efforts to overhaul or repeal Obamacare collapsed in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, rattling financial markets and casting doubt on the chances of getting Trump´s economic plans, such as tax reform and stimulus, through a divided Congress.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, edged up 0.2 percent to 94.780 after falling as low as 94.476 on Tuesday, its lowest level since September 2016.The euro inched 0.2 percent lower to $1.1534, after rising as high as $1.1583 on Tuesday, its highest since May 2016.The European Central Bank will hold a policy meeting on Thursday, with participants seen likely to adjust their language as they edge the ECB towards normalising policy.

Such adjustments may include dropping a reference to the bank´s readiness to increase the size or duration of its asset-purchase programme before announcing in the autumn how and when it will start winding down its bond-buying.