The dollar edged higher against sterling and the euro on Thursday after two straight days of declines as investors became more cautious ahead of political announcements in Britain following the country's vote to exit the European Union. Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was bookmakers' runaway favorite to become Britain's prime minister, pulled out of the race on Thursday in a shocking announcement less than a week after leading the "Brexit" campaign.
Sterling was last down 0.2 percent against the greenback at $1.3405 after gaining as much as 1.5 percent to $1.3534 on Wednesday. The euro fell 0.3 percent against the greenback to $1.1095 after hitting a nearly one-week high of $1.1155 early on Thursday. "People just want more clarity on the political situation before committing to a longer-term view on sterling," said Citi G10 currency strategist Josh O'Byrne in London.
China's offshore yuan currency was down just 0.3 percent at 6.6733 per dollar. It had hit a roughly six-month low of 6.6991 after government economists and advisers involved in regular policy discussions told Reuters the People's Bank of China was willing to let the currency depreciate by as much as last year's record decline of around 5 percent. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.1 percent at 95.847 after falling as low as 95.443 early on Thursday.
While the dollar was flat at 102.83 yen, it was down 0.5 percent against another perceived safe-haven, the Swiss franc, at 0.9748 franc. O'Byrne of Citi said fading risk appetite helped the franc gain. The dollar index was set to gain about 1.3 percent for the quarter. The greenback was on track to post a more than 7 percent decline against the yen for June to mark its weakest month since October 2008.
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