By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar inched higher on Monday, trading in a narrow range as investors remained cautious ahead of several key policy decisions due this week, with the Federal Reserve expected to keep rates on hold for the first time since January 2022.
Monetary policy meetings at the Fed, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will set this week's tone as markets seek clues from policymakers on the future path of interest rates.
U.S. May inflation data is also out on Tuesday as the Fed kicks off its two-day meeting.
"Though it's more likely than not that the Fed will 'skip' a hike this month, it seems as if no one wants to be caught on the wrong side of the market should they choose to hike this month, keeping volatility low across most majors," said Helen Given, FX trader at Monex USA in Washington.
She said everyone seemed to be "holding their breath" and waiting for cues from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
"A hike Wednesday would likely be very dollar-positive as it would go against current market expectations," Given said.
Money markets are leaning toward a pause from the Fed, according to Refinitiv's FedWatch, but a majority expect a hike in the July meeting.
Conversely, a clear majority of economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to hike its key rate by 25 basis points on Thursday and again in July, before pausing for the rest of the year as inflation remains sticky.
The U.S. dollar index clocked a loss of nearly 0.5% last week, its worst weekly drop since mid-April, and was last up 0.1% at 103.60.
The euro was up slightly at $1.0760, having risen 0.4% last week, its first weekly gain in roughly a month.
Elsewhere, the Japanese yen slipped 0.2% to 139.55 per U.S. dollar, before a two-day meeting by the BOJ, which is expected to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy and forecast a moderate economic recovery, as robust corporate and household spending cushion the blow from slowing overseas demand, sources told Reuters. The BOJ announces its policy decision on Friday.
Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand last month signaled it was done tightening after raising rates to the highest in more than 14 years at 5.5%, ending its most aggressive hiking cycle since 1999. That sent the New Zealand dollar tumbling 2.7% in May.
The kiwi was last down 0.1% at US$0.6124, sterling fell 0.6% against the dollar to $1.2510, while the Aussie edged up to US$0.6750 with a holiday in most of Australia making for thinned trade.
China's offshore yuan extended losses to trade at its lowest level against the greenback since November as recent soft data has raised expectations for monetary easing from the People's Bank of China this year. The dollar was last up 0.2% at 7.158.
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Currency bid prices at 4:25PM (2025 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Dollar index 103.5900 103.5300 +0.08% 0.097% +103.7500 +103.2400
Euro/Dollar $1.0760 $1.0750 +0.10% +0.42% +$1.0790 +$1.0734
Dollar/Yen 139.5600 139.3400 +0.17% +6.45% +139.7550 +139.0800
Euro/Yen 150.17 149.77 +0.27% +7.03% +150.3400 +149.6700
Dollar/Swiss 0.9087 0.9030 +0.62% -1.74% +0.9108 +0.9016
Sterling/Dollar $1.2510 $1.2579 -0.55% +3.44% +$1.2599 +$1.2487
Dollar/Canadian 1.3366 1.3341 +0.21% -1.33% +1.3384 +1.3315
Aussie/Dollar $0.6752 $0.6744 +0.11% -0.95% +$0.6773 +$0.6732
Euro/Swiss 0.9777 0.9707 +0.72% -1.19% +0.9787 +0.9706
Euro/Sterling 0.8599 0.8545 +0.63% -2.77% +0.8606 +0.8541
NZ $0.6123 $0.6130 -0.11% -3.57% +$0.6152 +$0.6107
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway 10.7950 10.7630 +0.50% +10.22% +10.8280 +10.7400
Euro/Norway 11.6141 11.5557 +0.51% +10.72% +11.6440 +11.5316
Dollar/Sweden 10.8166 10.8107 +0.17% +3.93% +10.8541 +10.7421
Euro/Sweden 11.6330 11.6133 +0.17% +4.34% +11.6535 +11.5869