The U.S. ⁠dollar was little changed on Wednesday as easing crude oil prices steadied currency markets ahead of a series of ‌central bank meetings.

The greenback was steady versus the British pound and Japanese yen, which pulled back from levels where traders had braced for possible intervention ​by Tokyo ahead of a meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

It was also flat against the euro, ​after two ​sessions of gains for the common currency as traders await the start of a two-day European Central Bank meeting.

The dollar has strengthened overall since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran almost three weeks ago, reaching a 10-month high late ⁠last week as the conflict and rising oil prices drove investors into safe-haven U.S. assets.

With no sign of de-escalation, Brent futures prices have settled above $100 a barrel for four consecutive sessions, though prices held steady on Wednesday after Iraqi and Kurdish authorities agreed to resume oil exports via Turkey's Ceyhan port.

Global stocks rose for a third day as steadier energy prices offered some relief.

"With the rise ​in crude oil prices ‌appearing to pause ⁠for the moment, it's not as ⁠though conditions have improved dramatically, but for now, markets across the board seem to be recovering somewhat," said Hirofumi Suzuki, chief foreign exchange strategist ​at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

"In the case of USD/JPY, you could say it has moved ‌a bit in the direction of yen strength."

The dollar index, which measures the ⁠greenback against six major peers, was roughly flat at 99.55. The euro was up less than 0.1% at $1.154.

Sterling was little changed at $1.336, as was the yen at 158.98 per dollar.

Japan's prime minister is due to depart on Wednesday for her meeting with Trump. Besides the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Takaichi is likely to discuss a second round of Japanese investment in the U.S. as part of tariff deals.

CENTRAL BANKS SEEN ON HOLD

The U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision on Wednesday, with the ECB, Bank of England and Bank of Japan following a day later.

They are all widely expected to maintain interest rates but traders will look for clues on where borrowing costs are heading amid a potential inflationary shock from the Middle East war.

Money ‌markets broadly expect the Fed to cut rates once this year, compared with the ⁠two reductions priced in before the conflict.

"The focus will very much be on the ​potential implications on inflation stemming from the conflict in the Middle East," Derek Halpenny, a senior currency analyst at MUFG, said of the Fed's decision.

However, he added: "We would be surprised to see any big rates or FX moves this evening given the likelihood of a balanced communication ​with no strong signals."

The ‌ECB is expected to raise interest rates in 2026, reversing expectations in February for the ⁠possibility of a further cut.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift and ​Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo and Harry Robertson in London. Editing by Christopher Cushing, Mark Potter and Gareth Jones)