The dollar was slightly higher early Wednesday in Asian trading from earlier levels, as surging oil prices continued to weigh on the euro and yen. The dollar was trading at 108.51 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 11 a.m. Wednesday, down 0.95 yen from late Tuesday, but above the 108.21 yen it bought in New York later that day. The euro rose to $1.2167 from $1.2103 late Tuesday, but had fallen from $1.2169 in New York earlier Tuesday. The 12-nation currency fell to 132.03 yen from 132.43 yen. In New York Tuesday, the dollar was mixed against other major currencies. The market remains focused on whether the European Central Bank will lower interest rate targets to lift growth across the economic zone. On Tuesday, central bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said nominal interest-rates -- at 2 percent for the past two years -- are at historically low levels, a point echoed by other bank officials in recent days. The euro dropped earlier Tuesday after the Swedish Riksbank cut rates by half a percentage point, twice what was expected, to 1.5 percent, inspiring investors' anticipation that other European central banks may follow suit, analysts said. Lower interest rates make investment securities denominated in a particular country's currency less attractive than those in others. While the Scandinavian country is a member of the European Union, it hasn't adopted the euro, leaving its central bank to function independently of the European Central Bank. The U.S. Commerce Department said the deficit in the U.S. current account -- the broadest measure of international trade -- rose to $195.1 billion in the first quarter as the country sank deeper into debt to Japan, China and other nations. But, following the acrimonious collapse of EU budget talks on Friday, the dollar had been staging a comeback. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that his country could leave the euro and bring back the lira. "It's not possible and it's not in our interest," Berlusconi said.