U.S. dollar ticks up

The U.S. dollar climbed in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, added 0.19 percent to 97.616 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro dropped to 1.1809 dollars from 1.1811 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound lost to 1.3663 dollars from 1.3684 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 156.82 Japanese yen, higher than 155.77 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar added to 0.7766 Swiss francs from 0.7756 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.3668 Canadian dollars from 1.3644 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar climbed to 8.9864 Swedish kronor from 8.9154 Swedish kronor.

China will step up efforts to expand imports in 2026 through coordinated domestic and international initiatives, as the country has become the world's second-largest consumer and import market, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

In 2026, China will further encourage Chinese companies to go global while inviting more foreign businesses to enter the Chinese market by holding import promotion events through multiple channels and in diverse formats both at home and abroad.

"We will enhance the synergy between the 'Export to China' initiative and the 'Shopping in China' campaign. By integrating these efforts with consumption-boosting programs such as 'Premium Consumption Month' and the 'International Consumption Season', we aim to bring in more high-quality imported products and services and help them perform well in the Chinese market. At the same time, we expect to see more vertical and horizontal coordination among diverse market players, and better online-offline connectivity, to continuously raise the quality and efficiency of imports," said Wang Zhihua, director of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce.

The first event in 2026 under the theme "Export to China to Share the Big Market" was held in Beijing. The ministry said it will host more than 100 related events throughout the year to support a wider range of high-quality global goods and services entering the Chinese market.