Investing.com - The dollar was little changed, still lower against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, as lessened expectations for an early U.S. rate hike continued to weigh on the greenback, although global growth concerns supported safe-haven demand.
Trading volumes were expected to remain thin on Monday with U.S. markets closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, held steady at 85.61.
Market sentiment found some support following reports Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to withdraw from their training exercises near the Ukraine border on Sunday.
Meawhile, the dollar struggled to regain traction after the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's September meeting last week prompted investors to push back the expected timing of a Fed rate hike.
On Friday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said weaker-than-expected global growth could prompt it to slow the pace of eventual interest rate hikes.
USD/JPY slid 0.36% to trade near one-month lows at 107.25.
Demand for the safe-haven yen strengthened amid global growth concerns after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015 and warned that global growth may never reach its pre-crisis levels ever again.
Markets in Japan were to remain closed for a national holiday.
EUR/USD gained 0.50% to 1.2689. However, sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable amid fears that Germany, the euro zone’s largest economy is being dragged into a recession after recent data indicated unexpected weakness in manufacturing and exports.
Data released on Thursday showed that German exports fell 5.8% in August, and this followed weak industrial output figures last Tuesday.
The pound was steady, with GBP/USD trading at 1.6077 and the Swiss franc was higher, with USD/CHF declining 0.60% to 0.9517.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD climbing 0.84% to 0.8759 and NZD/USD gaining 0.66% to trade at 0.7875. Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.10% to 1.1206.
Markets in Canada were to remain closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Also Monday, official data showed that China's trade surplus narrowed to $31.0 billion last month from $49.8 billion in August, compared to estimates for a surplus of $41.0 billion.
Chinese exports climbed 15.3% from a year earlier in September, beating expectations for an 11.8% increase, while imports rose 7.0%, compared to forecasts for a 2.7% decline.