Forexpros – The U.S. dollar slipped lower against most of its major counterparts on Monday, as market sentiment firmed up after a weekend summit of the G8 nations saw leaders affirm that they want Greece to remain in the euro zone, but concerns over the deepening crisis in the euro zone supported safe haven demand.
During European morning trade, the dollar was little changed against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.01% to hit 1.2778.
The leaders of the Group of Eight major economies failed to reach an agreement on how to calm market turmoil stemming from the crisis in the euro zone. However, in a statement G8 leaders indicated that they do want Greece to remain in the euro area and pledged to take measures to bolster their economies.
Concerns over the situation in Greece also eased after opinion polls indicated that pro-bailout party, New Democracy was leading the polls ahead of fresh elections, due to be held on June 17.
But investors remained wary amid fears over the implications of a Greek exit from the euro area, while concerns over the health of Spain’s banking sector also weighed.
The greenback was slightly lower against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.12% to hit 1.5834.
Speaking in the U.S. overnight, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said that the Greek people must choose between honoring their financial commitments or leaving the euro zone when they go to the polls next month.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.47% to hit 78.38 and remained steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching up 0.02% to hit 0.9400.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD shedding 0.29% to hit 1.0190, AUD/USD climbing 0.17% to hit 0.9860 and NZD/USD rising 0.42% to hit 0.7591.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.07%, to trade at 81.28.
Markets were looking ahead to a first meeting between German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his newly appointed French counterpart, Pierre Moscovici, later in the day, as European Union leaders prepared for Wednesday’s summit meeting.
Forexpros
