Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro on Monday as lingering uncertainty over the timing of a possible roll back in the Federal Reserve’s stimulus weighed.
During U.S. morning trade, USD/JPY hit session lows of 102.65, down from Friday’s five year highs of 103.91, and was last down 0.22% to 102.98.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting on Wednesday, with some expecting the bank to announce a small reduction in the pace of its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Markets were turning their attention to U.S. inflation data due out on Tuesday amid concerns that the subdued inflation outlook could prompt the Fed to keep its stimulus program in place for longer.
EUR/USD rose to session highs of 1.3798 and was last up 0.17% to 1.3764.
The euro moved higher after data on Monday showed that the euro area’s composite output index rose to a three month high in November, indicating that European Central Bank policymakers will not need to step up stimulus measures. It was the fastest increase since April 2011.
Private sector output in the euro zone’s largest economy continued to expand steadily in December, with Germany’s manufacturing index rising to a 30-month high, but the rate of decline in France accelerated, raising concerns that the country could fall back into a recession.
The pound rebounded against the dollar, snapping three days of losses, with GBP/USD rising 0.12% to 1.6314.
The dollar was trading close to two year lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.25% to 0.8868, holding just above the lows of 0.8839 struck last Wednesday.
The greenback was little changed against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD dipping 0.03% to 0.8964, NZD/USD edging up 0.07% to 0.8273 and USD/CAD inching down 0.06% to 1.0576.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.20%% to 80.22.
During U.S. morning trade, USD/JPY hit session lows of 102.65, down from Friday’s five year highs of 103.91, and was last down 0.22% to 102.98.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting on Wednesday, with some expecting the bank to announce a small reduction in the pace of its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Markets were turning their attention to U.S. inflation data due out on Tuesday amid concerns that the subdued inflation outlook could prompt the Fed to keep its stimulus program in place for longer.
EUR/USD rose to session highs of 1.3798 and was last up 0.17% to 1.3764.
The euro moved higher after data on Monday showed that the euro area’s composite output index rose to a three month high in November, indicating that European Central Bank policymakers will not need to step up stimulus measures. It was the fastest increase since April 2011.
Private sector output in the euro zone’s largest economy continued to expand steadily in December, with Germany’s manufacturing index rising to a 30-month high, but the rate of decline in France accelerated, raising concerns that the country could fall back into a recession.
The pound rebounded against the dollar, snapping three days of losses, with GBP/USD rising 0.12% to 1.6314.
The dollar was trading close to two year lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.25% to 0.8868, holding just above the lows of 0.8839 struck last Wednesday.
The greenback was little changed against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD dipping 0.03% to 0.8964, NZD/USD edging up 0.07% to 0.8273 and USD/CAD inching down 0.06% to 1.0576.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.20%% to 80.22.