U.S. corporate earnings that also boosted global shares.
The USD was on the back foot, slipping against a currency basket and coming under selling pressure vs the JPY as Japanese exporters sold the U.S. currency.
The EUR moved in narrow ranges as investors ancicipated testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day and looked for fresh factors to extend the single currency’s corrective rally.
“People are less worried about the euro than they were a month or two months ago,” said Johan Javeus, head of global strategy at SEB in Stockholm.
He said signs of weakness in the U.S. economy and receding worries about euro zone public finances assisted to support the euro in holiday-thinned trade.
“But the market doesn’t know which foot to stand on. It’s not extreme risk aversion or risk demand,” he added.
Bernanke gives his semi-annual testimony on the economy and financial policy at 1800 GMT.