The dollar hit a one-month peak against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as China and the United States discussed plans for talks to avert a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. The British pound fell to 20-month lows following reports that colleagues of Prime Minister Theresa May said they had enough numbers to mount a no-confidence vote in her leadership, stoking anxiety about a chaotic British exit from the European Union.
"The prospects for US and China have brightened. That's a relief for the dollar," said Peter Ng, senior foreign currency trader at Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California.
White House officials and China's commerce ministry said Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke on a telephone call on Tuesday, but offered no details what they discussed.
Still the call was seen as a step to ratchet down trade tension between Beijing and Washington, soothing worries about an all-out trade war between the two nations that would hurt global economic growth, analysts said.
An index that tracks the greenback against six major peers was up 0.26 percent at 97.476. Earlier Tuesday, it touched 97.545, which was the highest since November 28.
Positioning data released late Monday suggested the dollar may fall as speculators increased their net long bets in the greenback to their highest level since December 2016.
Sterling briefly stabilized earlier Tuesday following steep losses on Monday in reaction to May canceling a parliamentary vote on her Brexit agreement to seek more concessions.
Then May's own political future worsened on Tuesday.
Enough letters have been submitted by Conservative lawmakers to trigger a vote of no confidence in May's leadership, the BBC reported late Tuesday. Other media outlets reported sufficient votes for such a move.
The pound was down 0.6 percent at $1.2485 after falling to $1.248, which was the lowest since April 2017.
The euro edged up 0.23 percent at 90.61 pence after reaching 90.875 pence on Monday, which was its strongest since August 28.
The single currency was also bogged down by concerns over protests in France against inequality and President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms.
Investors were also focused on the European Central Bank's economic assessment of the euro zone, due on Thursday.
Fitch Ratings' chief economist Brian Coulton said the ECB as expected would signal the end of its asset purchases, but said it was unlikely the bank will hint at a rate hike anytime soon given the recent batch of softer-than-expected economic data across the euro zone.
The euro was 0.31 percent lower at $1.13195 and down 0.3 percent at 128.36 yen.
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