Investing.com - The dollar edged lower against a basket of the other major currencies on Monday, in thin trade with U.S. markets closed for a holiday, while sterling pushed higher, climbing around half a cent against the dollar.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, edged down 0.07% to 100.82 with the U.S. market shut for the Presidents Day holiday.
The dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.23% to 113.09, not far from Friday’s one-week lows of 112.61.
Investor sentiment remained cautious as hopes for changes to fiscal, tax and regulatory policy under the Trump administration have so far failed to materialize.
A solo presidential press conference on Thursday added to doubts over how effective the administration will be in enacting its economic agenda.
Concerns over a lack of clarity on the Trump’s administration’s policies have weighed on the dollar, despite recent upbeat economic data and a brighter outlook for interest rate hikes this year.
In Japan, data overnight showed that export growth slowed in January, at a time of growing concerns over the protectionist trade stance of President Trump.
The euro was little changed, with EUR/USD inching up 0.07% to 1.0621, after ending the prior session down 0.55%.
The single currency found some support as fears eased that the French left could unite behind one candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.
This possible alliance could increase the chances of anti-European Union Marine Le Pen winning the presidency in the second-round runoff.
EUR/JPY was up 0.31% at 120.09 after falling 0.94% on Friday.
Meanwhile, the pound strengthened, with GBP/USD climbing 0.5% to 1.2470 and EUR/GBP sliding 0.48% to 0.8517.
Sterling rose as the upper house of parliament began debating the bill which will pave the way for the formal start of talks on how Britain will leave the EU.