Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was steady against the other major currencies in cautious trade on Monday, as the eurogroup of finance ministers prepared to hold talks in Brussels to discuss whether to release Greece’s next tranche of bailout funds.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was little changed near a two-month high against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.07% to 1.2718.
The single currency remained supported after Greece’s government approved an austerity budget for 2013 late Sunday, just days after the parliament narrowly passed a EUR13.5 billion austerity package required to secure the country’s next installment of financial aid.
Expectations that the eurogroup ministers would take a decision on Monday were low, ahead of an economic progress report on Greece from the troika.
Meanwhile, lingering concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff continued to underpin demand for the greenback.
The greenback was trading close to a two-month low against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.13% to 1.5875.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.05% to 79.43 and USD/CHF inching down 0.12% to 0.9474.
The dollar was little changed against the yen earlier in the session after official data showed that Japan’s economy contracted by 3.5% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, but the data underlined concerns over a slowdown in global growth.
The report was offset by official data from China over the weekend showing that exports surged 11.6% year-over-year 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 0.19% to 0.9995, AUD/USD rising 0.48% to 1.0434 and NZD/USD up 0.43% to 0.8179.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched down 0.08% to 81.07.
Also Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Lisbon to hold talks with Portuguese political leaders, amid public opposition to the country’s austerity cuts.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was little changed near a two-month high against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.07% to 1.2718.
The single currency remained supported after Greece’s government approved an austerity budget for 2013 late Sunday, just days after the parliament narrowly passed a EUR13.5 billion austerity package required to secure the country’s next installment of financial aid.
Expectations that the eurogroup ministers would take a decision on Monday were low, ahead of an economic progress report on Greece from the troika.
Meanwhile, lingering concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff continued to underpin demand for the greenback.
The greenback was trading close to a two-month low against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.13% to 1.5875.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.05% to 79.43 and USD/CHF inching down 0.12% to 0.9474.
The dollar was little changed against the yen earlier in the session after official data showed that Japan’s economy contracted by 3.5% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, but the data underlined concerns over a slowdown in global growth.
The report was offset by official data from China over the weekend showing that exports surged 11.6% year-over-year 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 0.19% to 0.9995, AUD/USD rising 0.48% to 1.0434 and NZD/USD up 0.43% to 0.8179.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched down 0.08% to 81.07.
Also Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Lisbon to hold talks with Portuguese political leaders, amid public opposition to the country’s austerity cuts.