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• The dollar came under pressure and the Chinese yuan held gains on Thursday after a report that Washington was seeking a new round of trade talks with Beijing reduced safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency.

The euro and the pound stood firm ahead of policy decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England scheduled later in the day.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stood little changed at 94.831 .DXY after declining about 0.5 percent the previous day.

China's yuan CNH=D4 rose 0.6 percent to 6.8345 per dollar in offshore trade on Wednesday on the renewed hopes for U.S.-China trade discussions.

Data on Wednesday showing that U.S. producer prices fell in August for the first time in 1-1/2 years also weighed on the dollar.

The pound was steady at $1.3046 GBP=D4 after edging up 0.1 percent the previous day after Brexit-supporting lawmakers in British Prime Minister Theresa May's party publicly pledged support for her to stay in power. [GBP/]

The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday, giving the economy time to digest August’s increase in borrowing costs, which was only the second such move in the decade since the financial crisis.

The European Central Bank is all but certain to keep policy unaltered on Thursday, making only nuanced changes to its guidance to stay on course to end bond purchases this year and raise interest rates next autumn.

The euro was flat at $1.1627 EUR= after edging up 0.2 percent overnight.

The dollar was little changed at 111.21 yen JPY= after losing roughly 0.4 percent the previous day.

• The Trump administration has invited Chinese officials to restart trade talks, the White House’s top economic adviser said on Wednesday, as Washington prepares to escalate the U.S.-China trade war with tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Larry Kudlow, who heads the White House Economic Council, told Fox Business Network that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had sent an invitation to senior Chinese officials, but he declined to provide further details.

• Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department said the producer price index unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent in August, marking its first decline in 1-1/2 years.

• The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book showed the U.S. economy grew at a moderate pace in recent weeks even as businesses worried about international trade tensions.

Fed policymakers are widely to raise short-term borrowing costs at their upcoming meeting on Sept. 25-26.

• The Federal Reserve has room to raise interest rates over the next couple of years without slowing economic growth, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Wednesday, suggesting that monetary policy would likely continue to tighten for some time.

With economic growth strong, unemployment at 3.9 percent and inflation near the Fed’s 2.0 percent goal, further gradual interest rate rises are likely to be appropriate over the next year or two, Fed Governor Lael Brainard told the Detroit Economic Club.

• St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard on Wednesday credited U.S. President Donald Trump with boosting U.S. economic growth in a way that may prove to be sustainable by lifting productivity.

After months of waging a behind-the-scenes war against President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs that have escalated far beyond what business groups once imagined, more than 85 U.S. industry groups launched a coalition on Wednesday to take the fight public.

• Canada is ready to offer the U.S. limited access to the Canadian dairy market as a concession in negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of Ottawa’s negotiating strategy said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said at the White House that trade talks with Canada were going well and that Ottawa wants to make a deal. Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister, returned to Washington on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Canada’s protected dairy industry is one of three sticking points in NAFTA talks between the two countries, along with a system for settling trade disputes and cultural protections for Canadian media firms.

• Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland plans to return to Washington for more talks on NAFTA on Thursday but plenty of work remains before the two sides can strike a trade deal, a well-placed Canadian source said on Wednesday.

Although the United States wants to agree on the text of a new deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement by Oct. 1, the source reiterated Canada’s position that it would take as long as needed.

• Under fire over his handling of Russian election meddling, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday meant to strengthen election security by slapping sanctions on foreign countries or people who try to interfere in the U.S. political process.

The order, coming only eight weeks before congressional elections on Nov. 6, drew immediate criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers as too little, too late.

Trump signed the order behind closed doors with no reporters present, a rare departure from what has been his standard practice.

• Confidence among Japanese manufacturers slipped in September from August’s seven-month high, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, a sign the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing is keeping exporters on edge.

Japan’s core machinery orders rose 11.0 percent in July from the previous month, the government said on Thursday, in a sign that capital expenditure could pick up.

• Labor unions and social groups blocked streets in downtown Buenos Aires on Wednesday to protest austerity measures proposed by the government and backed by the International Monetary Fund to reduce Argentina’s debt.

Protesters are angry about the belt-tightening policies, which are cutting services to low-income Argentines already walloped by inflation of 31 percent and climbing.

But Argentine leader Mauricio Macri said he needs to carry out such measures to regain investors’ confidence by reducing the country’s spending.

• Oil futures rose on Wednesday, with Brent reaching $80 a barrel, after a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories and as U.S. sanctions on Iran added to concerns over global oil supply.

Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 68 cents to settle at $79.74 a barrel. The global benchmark earlier reached $80.13 a barrel, its highest level since May 22.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose $1.12 to settle at $70.37 a barrel, a one-week high.

• U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 5.3 million barrels in the last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a decrease of 805,000barrels.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC