NEW YORK, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar index declined against most other major currencies in late trading on Wednesday, as investors assessed trade tensions between China and the United States.
China on Wednesday unveiled a list of products worth 50 billion U.S. dollars imported from the United States that will be subject to higher tariffs, including soy bean, automobiles and chemical products.
The move was taken after the U.S. administration announced a proposed list of products subject to additional tariffs, which covers Chinese exports worth 50 billion dollars with a suggested tariff rate of 25 percent.
The date of implementation will depend on when the U.S. government imposes the tariffs on Chinese products, the Ministry of Finance said.
On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 241,000 jobs from February to March, well above market consensus of 185,000, according to the March ADP National Employment Report Wednesday.
"ADP reported a much-stronger-than-expected 241k increase in private payrolls in March, suggesting another robust employment gain when the BLS (the Bureau of Labor Statistics) reports on Friday," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.
Meanwhile, the Non-Manufacturing Index registered 58.8 percent in March, 0.7 percentage point lower than the February reading and also missing market estimates, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced Wednesday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.07 percent at 90.139 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.2281 dollars from 1.2268 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.4074 dollars from 1.4056 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar was up to 0.7707 dollar from 0.7680 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 106.74 Japanese yen, higher than 106.58 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar gained to 0.9605 Swiss franc from 0.9592 Swiss franc, and it fell to 1.2791 Canadian dollars from 1.2811 Canadian dollars.
