Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against a currency basket on Monday after the U.S. government was forced to shut down as a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over immigration continued to roil Washington.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.19% to 90.32 by 03:37 AM ET (08:37 AM GMT), not far from Friday’s three-year trough of 89.96.
The U.S. government shutdown went into effect at midnight on Friday after Senate negotiators failed to reach an agreement on a last minute deal to keep the government funded amid a dispute over immigration and border security.
The Senate was due to hold a vote at 12:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT) on Monday on a temporary measure to fund the government through Feb. 8, but uncertainty remained over whether it had enough votes to pass.
The dollar remained slightly higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.16% to 110.88, remaining supported above the four-month low of 110.18 reached last Wednesday.
The euro pushed higher, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to 1.2243, remaining shy of last Wednesday’s three-year peaks of 1.2322.
The single currency was boosted by news that Germany's Social Democratic Party voted on Sunday to begin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, easing a political deadlock in the euro area’s largest economy.
The dollar was lower against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF losing 0.17% to trade at 0.9609, after hitting a four-month low of 0.9534 on Friday.
The pound gained ground, with GBP/USD adding 0.25% to trade at 1.3892. Sterling had hit a high of 1.3944 on Friday, the highest level since Britain’s vote to exit the European Union in June 2016.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was little changed with AUD/USD at 0.7998 and the New Zealand dollar was higher, with NZD/USD advancing 0.28% to 0.7292.