Dollar hits seven-week low on Trump worries

The dollar tumbled to a seven-week low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday on worries that US President Donald Trump was focusing too much on protectionism and isolationism, and not enough on pro-growth policies.

The biggest gainer among major currencies was sterling, which jumped above $1.26 for the first time in six weeks on hopes for a trade deal between Britain and the United States, which UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday would put "put UK interests and UK values first".

Her comments carried echoes of Trump's "America first" message in his inaugural speech on Friday. For the dollar, though, Trump's comments had acted as a negative, with investors disappointed by the lack of detail on his planned fiscal stimulus and worried that Trump's protectionist leanings could harm the US economy.

Moves by Trump on oil pipeline projects on Tuesday had boosted US equity markets and pulled the greenback back after a fall the previous day.