Dollar on back foot as US yields, crude prices dip; Aussie buoyed by hawkish RBA

Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI rallied on Wednesday."With equity market sentiment and the growth outlook closely tied to the performance of the major tech firms, their earnings results can have a large bearing on the USD," Carol Kong, economist and currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a client note.Amid a "mixed" performance among traditional haven assets this year, "the USD has been the clear standout," she said.

"Safe haven demand for the USD is likely to fade once the Middle East conflict ends and energy prices retreat. However, we expect the USD to trend modestly higher in coming months as foreign capital inflows into US markets increase."The greenback was little changed at 158.33 yen, and was steady at $1.1229 per euro and $1.33735 versus sterling.Still, traders remained wary of the euro as France tackles widespread anti-government protests and a worsening fiscal picture.France will reinforce police with troops and mount a huge security operation for more protests planned on Saturday, the government said on Tuesday, acknowledging failures in its response to violence last weekend.Among central banks, the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan announce policy decisions on consecutive days starting next Wednesday.

Traders do not expect changes in interest rates at any of those meetings.The Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Bank of Canada decide policy on the same day as the Fed, with traders betting on quarter-point hikes by both.The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.1% to $0.5677 on Wednesday, while Canada's loonie was steady at C$1.4064.(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)