Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against most of its major counterparts on Monday, as developments in Italy dominated sentiment amid speculation that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could resign.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.15% to hit 1.3771.
Speculation that Prime Minister Berlusconi could be about to step down fanned hopes for a political breakthrough in Italy, ahead of a keenly awaited parliamentary vote on public finances on Tuesday.
But the single currency remained under pressure after official data showed that German industrial output dropped more-than-expected in September, while retail sales in the euro zone fell more-than-expected in September.
The greenback also edged lower against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.04% to hit 1.6023.
Earlier in the day, industry data showed that U.K. house prices rose more-than-expected last month, but fell slightly over the three months to October.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen but posted strong gains against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.23% to hit 78.05, and USD/CHF jumping 1.63% to hit 0.8988.
Government data released earlier showed that Swiss consumer price inflation declined unexpectedly in October, falling 0.1%, confounding expectations for a 0.2% gain.
The data came after Swiss National Bank Chairman Phillip Hildebrand said Sunday that the central bank is ready to take further measures to weaken the Swiss franc if necessary.
Meanwhile, the greenback was lower against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts, but was higher against its Australian cousin, with USD/CAD shedding 0.28% to hit 1.0159, NZD/USD climbing 0.38% to hit 0.7967 and AUD/USD sliding 0.24% to hit 1.0347.
Earlier Monday, a report showed that the number of Australian jobs adverts in newspapers and on the internet fell in October, the sixth decline in seven months.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.12% to hit 77.22.
Also Monday, Greece’s Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos held “a positive and productive discussion” with European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, to discuss the disbursement of Greece’s next tranche of financial aid.
The talks were held ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels later in the day.
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