Investing.com - The dollar was broadly higher against the other major currencies on Monday, as the U.K. shock decision to leave the European Union continued to rattle financial markets around the globe and weigh heavily on risk sentiment.
GBP/USD was down 2.87% at 1.3288, not far from the lows of 1.3228 set on Friday, the weakest since 1985.
The pound remained under broad selling pressure after U.K. Finance Minister George Osborne said Monday that the vote to leave the EU was likely to lead to further volatility in financial markets but claimed that the economy is as strong as it could be to face the challenges ahead.
Investors fear that the decision could hit investment in the U.K. economy, threaten London's role as a global financial capital and trigger months of political uncertainty after British Prime Minster David Cameron resigned on Friday.
The vote could also lead to a breakup of the U.K., with Scotland now highly likely to hold a second independence referendum.
EUR/USD dropped 0.72% to 1.1035, off Friday’s three-month trough of 1.0908, while EUR/GBP rallied 2.28% to 0.8310, the highest since March 2014.
USD/JPY declined 0.52% to 101.71 after falling to lows of 99.15 on Friday, the weakest level since November 2013. GBP/JPY plummeted 3.55% at 134.88, still close to Friday’s three-and-a-half year low of 133.31.
Traders remained focused on whether Japan would take any action to weaken the yen if it continued to strengthen.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Finance Minister Taro Aso on Monday to watch currency markets "ever more closely" and take steps if necessary in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Meanwhile, USD/CHF edged up 0.15% to 0.9751.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were lower, with AUD/USD down 0.43% at 0.7431 and with NZD/USD retreating 0.83% to 0.7075.
Markets shrugged off official data on Monday showing that New Zealand’s trade surplus widened to NZ$358 million in May from NZ$292 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to NZ$164 million last month.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3005.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.67% at 96.28, still close to Friday’s three-month high of 96.70.