The U.S. dollar held on Wednesday to minor gains against the euro, which remained below the US$1.30 mark in morning European trading following the release of figures showing American consumer confidence rising for the second straight month in January.
The euro shot up from about US$1.20 in September to an all-time high of US$1.3667 at the end of December on concerns about the ever-growing U.S. trade and budget deficits, but has since staged a mini-rally and was at US$1.2983.
The 12-nation euro dropped below the US$1.30 mark on Tuesday after the New York-based Conference Board released its monthly index, which investors had expected to fall.
In other trading, the British pound was at US$1.8685, up slightly from US$1.8654 on Tuesday, while the dollar bought 103.57 yen, down slightly from 104.04 yen the day before.