• The U.S. dollar was steady on Wednesday, halting a recent losing streak as investors extended an unwinding of short bets on the currency, particularly against the New Zealand and the Canadian currencies.
The dollar index against a basket of major currencies was broadly flat at 92.96 in early trades. On Tuesday, it hit its lowest level in 15 months at 92.777.
The euro was 0.3 percent stronger at $1.1837 holding below a 2-1/2-year peak of $1.1846 set the previous day.
"Our European strategists advise selling the euro on rallies as they believe the ECB hawkish expectations priced into the market may be premature," said Sue Trinh, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong.
• Britain's pound climbed to its highest levels against the dollar since mid-September on Tuesday, as data showing UK factory activity growth recovered from a seven-month low in July eased concerns about an economic slowdown.
Sterling climbed as high as $1.3240 GBP=D3 after the data's release and was still trading at around that level by 1420 GMT, as data showing U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in June weighed on the dollar.
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey for Britain's manufacturing sector climbed to 55.1, exceeding the 54.4 consensus in a Reuters poll of economists, helped by the biggest influx of new export orders since 2010.
• President Donald Trump grudgingly accepted new congressional sanctions on Russia, the top U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday, remarks in contrast with those of Vice President Mike Pence, who said the bill showed Trump and Congress speaking "with a unified voice."
• U.S. President Donald Trump sent a Twitter message bragging about corporate America's high profits under his presidency on Tuesday, prompting critics to say he was undercutting Republican arguments in favor of a tax cut for corporations.
The largest U.S. public companies have seen profits accelerate in 2017, with quarterly earnings rising at a double-digit pace compared with a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. Full-year earnings are expected to be up 11.5 percent, which would be the strongest growth since 2011.
• U.S. President Donald Trump is close to a decision on how to respond to what he considers China's unfair trade practices, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday.
• A former U.S. Justice Department official has become the latest lawyer to join special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, a spokesman for the team confirmed.
Greg Andres started on Tuesday, becoming the 16th lawyer on the team, said Josh Stueve, a spokesman for the special counsel.
• The Reserve Bank of India was widely expected to cut its main policy rate to the lowest in the more than six years on Wednesday to battle low inflation — a common sticking point for policymakers globally.
A Reuters poll found that 40 out of 56 economists expected the RBI to cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 percent on Wednesday. That is the lowest rate India has seen since November 2010, according to Reuters.
Inflation in Asia's third largest economy has missed forecasts for the last six to seven months, noted DBS economist Radhika Rao. The latest data showed inflation slipped to 1.54 percent in June due to a slump in food prices, below RBI's 2 to 3.5 percent target for the April-September period.
• Oil prices fell 1 percent on Wednesday, with rising U.S. fuel inventories pulling U.S. crude back below $50 per barrel, while ongoing high OPEC supplies weighed on international prices.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $48.69 per barrel at 0456 GMT, down 47 cents, or 1 percent, from its last settlement. That came after the contract opened above $50 for the first time since May 25 on Tuesday.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was down 47 cents - almost 1 percent - at $51.31 per barrel.
• The American Petroleum Institute's (API) said that U.S. crude stocks rose by 1.8 million barrels in the week ending July 28 to 488.8 million, denting hopes that recent inventory draws were a sign of a tightening U.S. market.
• Jeffrey Halley of futures brokerage OANDA said following the API's report "traders stampeded for the door to lock in profits from the last eight days' bull-run."
Official storage figures are due to be published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration later on Wednesday.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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