Dollar steadies in Asia

The dollar was steady against a basket of currencies in Asia on Wednesday, not far from the previous session's one-month high touched after brighter economic data rekindled expectations that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this year.
Encouraging US factory and construction data offered hope the economy was regaining momentum. That helped US stocks stage their biggest one-day rise in a month and close at their highest since early January.
Predictably, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, pulled ahead and was last at 98.377, up slightly from the previous day and not far from its overnight peak of 98.570.
But the dollar is also vulnerable to profit-taking on any rise, market participants said, as investors await more US data for confirmation that the economic recovery was sure-footed.
"Not so many people are confident about the US economy and global markets, so the dollar will be rangebound for now," said Masashi Murata, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.
Currency markets had a muted reaction to the outcome of "Super Tuesday" state-by-state primary voting, at which
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton notched a series of wins that took them a step closer to their respective parties' nominations in the US presidential campaign.
"Trump is more focused on the domestic economy than the global economy, but still, it's too early to price anything into market positions," Murata said.
The dollar lost some ground against the yen as investors locked in gains after the US unit rallied to a nearly two-week high of 114.185. It last stood at 113.86, down about 0.1 percent.
The yen's gains were held in check by talk of more stimulus from Japanese authorities, though this time the chatter centred on fiscal measures, rather than monetary policy action.
In Europe, investors braced for further easing from the European Central Bank (ECB) at next week's review. ECB President Mario Draghi on Tuesday said the meeting would have to take into account weaker prospects for growth and inflation.
The common currency edged down about 0.1 percent to $1.0860, within sight of a one-month trough of $1.0834 set on Tuesday.
The euro slipped about 0.2 percent to 123.66 yen, moving back toward a near three-year trough of 122.085 set overnight.
Business surveys outside the United States kept alive fears about global growth momentum, with manufacturing output across much of Asia shrinking in February and waning throughout Europe.
Among the best performing major currencies was the Canadian dollar, which scaled a three-month peak of C$1.3387 against its US counterpart on Tuesday after economic growth data beat forecasts. The dollar took back some of that ground in Asian trading, adding about 0.1 percent to buy C$1.3424.
The Aussie was trading solidly above 72 US cents to $0.7220, having drifted up from Tuesday's low near 71 cents before data showed Australia's economy outpaced all forecasts to grow at the fastest pace in almost two years last quarter.