Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was steady against the euro and the yen on Monday, after weak third quarter growth data out of Japan, while markets looked ahead to a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day.
During European morning trade, the dollar was little changed close to a two-month high against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.2708.
The euro found support after Greece’s government approved a budget of spending cuts and tax increases for 2013, just days after the parliament narrowly approved a EUR13.5 billion austerity package required to secure the country’s next installment of financial aid.
The eurogroup of finance ministers were to hold talks in Brussels later Monday, to discuss unlocking Greece’s next tranche of aid.
Without the next aid installment, Greece risks default on November 16, when Athens must repay EUR5 billion of debts.
Meanwhile, ongoing concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff continued to underpin demand for the greenback.
The greenback was fractionally higher against the pound, with GBP/USD inching down 0.05% to 1.5887.
Elsewhere, the greenback was steady against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging down 0.01% to 79.46 and USD/CHF unchanged on the day at 0.9486.
The dollar was little changed against the yen after official data showed that Japan’s economy contracted by 0.9% in the third quarter, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 3.5% as exports, consumption and business investment tumbled.
The report was offset by official data from China over the weekend showing that exports increased by 11.6% from a year earlier in October, while the trade surplus widened to the largest in almost four years.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD down 0.22% to 0.9992, AUD/USD rising 0.42% to 1.0428 and NZD/USD up 0.30% to 0.8168.
In Australia, official data showed that home loan demand rose less-than-expected in September, increasing 0.9% slightly below expectations for a 1.0% rise.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched down 0.01% to 81.14.
Later Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to travel to Lisbon to hold talks with Portuguese political leaders, amid public opposition to the country’s austerity cuts.
During European morning trade, the dollar was little changed close to a two-month high against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.2708.
The euro found support after Greece’s government approved a budget of spending cuts and tax increases for 2013, just days after the parliament narrowly approved a EUR13.5 billion austerity package required to secure the country’s next installment of financial aid.
The eurogroup of finance ministers were to hold talks in Brussels later Monday, to discuss unlocking Greece’s next tranche of aid.
Without the next aid installment, Greece risks default on November 16, when Athens must repay EUR5 billion of debts.
Meanwhile, ongoing concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff continued to underpin demand for the greenback.
The greenback was fractionally higher against the pound, with GBP/USD inching down 0.05% to 1.5887.
Elsewhere, the greenback was steady against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY edging down 0.01% to 79.46 and USD/CHF unchanged on the day at 0.9486.
The dollar was little changed against the yen after official data showed that Japan’s economy contracted by 0.9% in the third quarter, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 3.5% as exports, consumption and business investment tumbled.
The report was offset by official data from China over the weekend showing that exports increased by 11.6% from a year earlier in October, while the trade surplus widened to the largest in almost four years.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD down 0.22% to 0.9992, AUD/USD rising 0.42% to 1.0428 and NZD/USD up 0.30% to 0.8168.
In Australia, official data showed that home loan demand rose less-than-expected in September, increasing 0.9% slightly below expectations for a 1.0% rise.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched down 0.01% to 81.14.
Later Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to travel to Lisbon to hold talks with Portuguese political leaders, amid public opposition to the country’s austerity cuts.