Forexpros – The U.S. dollar traded higher against its major counterparts on Monday, however markets steadied following a steep sell-off sparked by European election results but safe haven demand remained supported by concerns over Europe’s debt crisis and after Friday’s weak U.S. jobs data.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD losing 0.24% to hit 1.3054.
Single currency sentiment improved following a steep decline, after weekend election results in Greece threw the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt and fuelled fears over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Neither of the country’s two pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a government, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against harsh austerity measures.
Meanwhile, in France, President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate Fran?ois Hollande, who has been critical of the country’s austerity program.
Risk appetite was also weighed by fears that the U.S. economic recovery is losing momentum after official data on Friday showed that the economy added 115,000 jobs in last month, far short of expectations for a 170,000 increase.
The greenback slid lower against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.26% to hit 1.6191.
The greenback edged higher against the yen, with USD/JPY easing higher 0.05% to hit 79.89 and pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.32% to hit 0.9209.
Earlier in the day, government data indicated that the rate of unemployment in Switzerland was 3.1% in April. A separate report showed that Swiss consumer price inflation rose less-than-expected last month, adding 0.1%, against expectations for a 0.2% increase.
Elsewhere, the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s April policy meeting reported that the economy was showing signs of improvement but a high degree of uncertainty regarding the global outlook remained.
The greenback was little changed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.18% to hit 0.9939, AUD/USD adding 0.31% to hit 1.0213 and NZD/USD slipping 0.11% to hit 0.7945.
The Canadian dollar was little changed earlier after domestic data indicated the number of new building permits issued rose unexpectedly in March, climbing 4.7%, defying expectations for a 1.5% decline.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.12%, at 79.69.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light on Monday, with markets in the U.K. closed for a bank holiday.
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