Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was slightly lower against its major counterparts on Monday, as investors remained on edge amid a lack of progress on a bailout for Greece and uncertainty over future U.S. monetary policy ahead of the end of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve this month.
During European morning trade, the greenback dipped against the euro, with EUR/USD inching up 0.05% to hit 1.4356.
The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD climbing 0.29% to hit 1.6273.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against the yen but slightly lower against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY easing up 0.07% to hit 80.38 and USD/CHF slipping 0.03% to hit 0.8427.
Earlier Monday, Japanese government data showed an unexpected drop in core machinery orders in April, in a sign the March earthquake and tsunami affected companies’ ability to spend on equipment and facilities.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against its Canadian and Australian counterparts, but up against its New Zealand cousin, with USD/CAD shedding 0.30% to hit 0.9767, AUD/USD rising 0.25% to hit 1.0564 and NZD/USD tumbling 1.01% to hit 0.8131.
New Zealand’s dollar fell broadly after a series of severe aftershocks hit the south island city of Christchurch, four months after a devastating earthquake in the city killed 180 people.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.10%.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was to speak at an event in London, while markets in France and Germany were closed for national holidays.
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