U.S. dollar index edges into positive territory

San Francisco (Apr 17)  The U.S. dollar index moved into positive territory midday Thursday, erasing its earlier dip, as traders tiptoed back into buying dollars after the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union issued a joint statement calling for the end of violence in eastern Ukraine.

The greenback was slightly weaker earlier against major currencies partly on fears that rising violence between the Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian fighters in the eastern part of Ukraine might escalate into a full-blown civil war.

The joint statement spurred traders to trim their safe-haven holdings in the Japanese yen and Swiss franc as well as U.S. Treasuries, analysts said.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, was last up 0.04 percent at 79.835 after hitting a session low of 79.58 earlier.

The rise in U.S. Treasuries yields also boosted the dollar. Benchmark 10-year Treasuries yields were up 7 basis points at 2.71 percent, their highest in over a week