NEW YORK: The dollar firmed a bit on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the Ukraine crisis and awaited the outcome of the next day's European Central Bank monetary policy meeting.
The euro bought $1.3736 around 2300 GMT, down from $1.3742 late Tuesday.
The dollar rose to 102.33 yen from 102.21, while the European unit bought 140.57 yen compared with 140.46 yen the prior day.
Although fears of a war between Russia and Ukraine have eased since the weekend, markets were monitoring the situation after pro-Russian forces seized control of Crimea in the country.
"The situation in Crimea is still grabbing headlines, but there is absolutely no consensus on the key points," said Jean-Pierre Dore of Western Union Business Solutions.
The uncertainty is "reason for traders to err of the side of caution, which is fueling a slight broader dollar rally as we await clarity."
The euro, meanwhile, came under pressure ahead of the ECB's interest rate decision on Thursday.
"What is interesting about the euro's recent price action is that the currency sold off when the tensions in Ukraine escalated but failed to rally when the fears began to ease," said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.
Lien attributed the pressure on the euro to concerns that the crisis is "far from over" and selling ahead of the ECB rate decision.
Traders were also looking ahead to Friday's US jobs report for February. Economic data on Wednesday pointed to weaker job growth in the private sector and a slump in employment in the services sector, the largest part of the US economy.
"After two months of subpar payroll growth, the Federal Reserve desperately needs a strong month of job growth to justify continuing their current pace of tapering," Lien said. Fed policy makers will meet on March 18 and 19 to consider a fresh cut to the now $65 billion a month stimulus program.
The dollar edged up to 0.8871 Swiss franc from 0.8870 franc.
The pound, however, firmed against the greenback, buying $1.6722, up from $1.6663 the prior day.
Analysts expected the Bank of England will leave its monetary policy unchanged Thursday, to avoid stalling the British economy's recovery.
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