Investing.com - The dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Monday, as the U.S. government shutdown and the looming threat of a U.S. default weighed on the greenback.
During European late morning trade, the dollar fell to fresh five-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.54% to 96.92.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday the House will not support bills to fully reopen the government or increase the government borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to talks aimed at reducing the deficit.
The comments fuelled fears that the political deadlock in Washington will not be resolved by October 17, the date which the Treasury Department has estimated the U.S. could risk an unprecedented default.
Meanwhile, delays in U.S. economic data releases fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on any move to scale back its stimulus program.
The euro pushed higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.15% to 1.3574.
Data released on Monday showed that the euro zone economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter, unchanged from a preliminary estimate and in line with forecasts.
A separate report showed that the Sentix index of euro zone investor confidence dropped to 6.1, from 6.5 in September as concerns over the political impasse in the U.S. hurt sentiment. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 10.6 this month.
The pound was higher against the greenback, with GBP/USD advancing 0.32% to 1.6059.
The dollar re-approached 20-month lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF falling 0.46% to 0.9031.
Elsewhere, the greenback pushed higher against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD down 0.21% to 0.9411, NZD/USD losing 0.36% to trade at 0.8289 and USD/CAD climbing 0.25% to 1.0321.
The Australian dollar came under pressure after the World Bank cut its economic growth forecast for China on Monday.
The Bank said it now expects the Chinese economy to expand by 7.5% this year, down from its April forecast of 8.3%. For 2014, the forecast was cut from 8% to 7.7%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.18% to 80.10.
During European late morning trade, the dollar fell to fresh five-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.54% to 96.92.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday the House will not support bills to fully reopen the government or increase the government borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to talks aimed at reducing the deficit.
The comments fuelled fears that the political deadlock in Washington will not be resolved by October 17, the date which the Treasury Department has estimated the U.S. could risk an unprecedented default.
Meanwhile, delays in U.S. economic data releases fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on any move to scale back its stimulus program.
The euro pushed higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.15% to 1.3574.
Data released on Monday showed that the euro zone economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter, unchanged from a preliminary estimate and in line with forecasts.
A separate report showed that the Sentix index of euro zone investor confidence dropped to 6.1, from 6.5 in September as concerns over the political impasse in the U.S. hurt sentiment. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 10.6 this month.
The pound was higher against the greenback, with GBP/USD advancing 0.32% to 1.6059.
The dollar re-approached 20-month lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF falling 0.46% to 0.9031.
Elsewhere, the greenback pushed higher against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD down 0.21% to 0.9411, NZD/USD losing 0.36% to trade at 0.8289 and USD/CAD climbing 0.25% to 1.0321.
The Australian dollar came under pressure after the World Bank cut its economic growth forecast for China on Monday.
The Bank said it now expects the Chinese economy to expand by 7.5% this year, down from its April forecast of 8.3%. For 2014, the forecast was cut from 8% to 7.7%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.18% to 80.10.