Investing.com - The dollar gained ground against the yen on Wednesday as global equity markets stabilized following a steep selloff, while the euro was lower ahead of euro zone inflation data later in the day.
USD/JPY was up 0.29% to 120.08, off overnight lows of 119.68.
Asian equities rose overnight, recovering from steep losses in the previous session, sparked by ongoing fears over the effects of slowing growth in China on the global economy.
The yen showed little reaction after data showing that Japanese industrial output unexpectedly declined in August.
The dollar was also higher against the common currency, with EUR/USD off 0.21% at 1.1225.
Investors were looking ahead to preliminary data on euro zone consumer prices later in the day and the consensus expectation was for a flat reading after a positive reading of 0.1% in August.
The shared currency has been hit by speculation that the European Central Bank could enlarge its quantitative easing program after it cut its forecasts for growth and inflation earlier this month.
Data on Tuesday showed that annual inflation in Germany slowed to zero in September, while Spain’s consumer price index fell 0.9%, the largest fall in seven months.
The ECB launched its €60 billion-a-month asset purchase program in March to combat persistently low inflation in the euro area and it is set to run until at least September 2016.
The euro was steady against the yen, with EUR/JPY at 134.77.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.17% to 96.23, boosted by the weaker euro.