Investing.com - The dollar fell to one-month lows against the yen on Monday as concerns over the prospect of the U.S. government shutting down boosted safe haven demand, while the euro remained under pressure amid fresh political uncertainty in Italy.
During European late morning trade, the dollar was weaker against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.43% to 97.81.
Political wrangling in Washington over funding for President Barack Obama’s healthcare law continued over the weekend, fuelling fears over a possible government shutdown.
Congress must pass a short-term budget by midnight on Monday in order to keep the government open.
Republican opposition to the funding of the Affordable Care Act has created a standoff with the White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, which have both said they will not support any budget bill that defunds or amends Obamacare.
Elsewhere, the euro slipped lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.20% to 1.3494 after Silvio Berlusconi announced Saturday that he was pulling his ministers out of Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s coalition government and called for fresh elections to be held.
Meanwhile, data released on Monday showed that consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose at the slowest pace since February 2010 in September, sliding to 1.1% from 1.3% in August.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs slowed to 1% from 1.1% in August.
The dollar was trading close to eight-month lows against the pound, with GBP/USD edging up 0.11% to 1.6156.
Demand for sterling continued to be underpinned after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said last week that he did not see a case for further quantitative easing.
The pound showed little reaction after data on Monday showed that U.K. net lending rose in line with expectations in August, while mortgage approvals rose more than expected.
The dollar was trading within striking distance of seven-month lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching down 0.08% to 0.9054.
Elsewhere, the greenback was trading in narrow ranges against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD up 0.19% to 0.9332, NZD/USD dipping 0.05% to 0.8277 and USD/CAD inching down 0.01% to 1.0304.
The Australian dollar was lower earlier after data showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing index was revised down to 50.2 from an initial reading of 51.2 this month, indicating that the recovery in the world’s second largest economy remains fragile.
Economists had expected an unchanged reading.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.02% to 80.38.
During European late morning trade, the dollar was weaker against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.43% to 97.81.
Political wrangling in Washington over funding for President Barack Obama’s healthcare law continued over the weekend, fuelling fears over a possible government shutdown.
Congress must pass a short-term budget by midnight on Monday in order to keep the government open.
Republican opposition to the funding of the Affordable Care Act has created a standoff with the White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, which have both said they will not support any budget bill that defunds or amends Obamacare.
Elsewhere, the euro slipped lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.20% to 1.3494 after Silvio Berlusconi announced Saturday that he was pulling his ministers out of Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s coalition government and called for fresh elections to be held.
Meanwhile, data released on Monday showed that consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose at the slowest pace since February 2010 in September, sliding to 1.1% from 1.3% in August.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs slowed to 1% from 1.1% in August.
The dollar was trading close to eight-month lows against the pound, with GBP/USD edging up 0.11% to 1.6156.
Demand for sterling continued to be underpinned after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said last week that he did not see a case for further quantitative easing.
The pound showed little reaction after data on Monday showed that U.K. net lending rose in line with expectations in August, while mortgage approvals rose more than expected.
The dollar was trading within striking distance of seven-month lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching down 0.08% to 0.9054.
Elsewhere, the greenback was trading in narrow ranges against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD up 0.19% to 0.9332, NZD/USD dipping 0.05% to 0.8277 and USD/CAD inching down 0.01% to 1.0304.
The Australian dollar was lower earlier after data showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing index was revised down to 50.2 from an initial reading of 51.2 this month, indicating that the recovery in the world’s second largest economy remains fragile.
Economists had expected an unchanged reading.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.02% to 80.38.