Forexpros – The U.S. dollar remained steady against its major counterparts in subdued trade on Monday, as markets looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s rate statement on Tuesday for any indications on the possibility of fresh monetary easing.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.13% to hit 1.3139.
Euro zone finance ministers were holding talks in Brussels, to discuss the final approval of a EUR130 billion bailout for Greece.
The single currency remained under pressure after the International Swaps and Derivatives Association said Friday that Greece’s debt swap with private creditors constituted a “credit event”, which would activate credit-default swaps, designed to protect investors against losses on Greek sovereign debt.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported as Friday’s robust U.S. employment data dampened expectations for a fresh round of asset purchases by the Federal Reserve to help stimulate economic growth.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in February, beating expectations for a 210,000 gain. The unemployment rate held steady at a three year low of 8.3%.
Elsewhere, the greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.27% to hit 1.5630.
The greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.32% to hit 82.21 and USD/CHF sliding 0.16% to hit 0.9173.
Earlier in the day, Japanese officials reiterated concerns over the strength of the yen, despite a recent weakening in the currency.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that the yen was still “strong,” while Finance Minister Jun Azumi reiterated warnings against any “excessively speculative movements.”
The greenback held gains against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD up 0.30% to hit 0.9934, AUD/USD falling 0.74% to hit 1.0496 and NZD/USD dropping 0.41% to hit 0.8179.
Sentiment on the growth linked dollars was hit earlier after official data showed that China posted the largest trade deficit in 12 years in February, as exports declined.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.06% to hit 80.38.
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