The u.s. dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Monday, due to concerns by the latest escalation of the trade war between the United States and China. Investors were cautious, and volumes have remained low, in anticipation of the holiday to US.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies, was almost unchanged at 98.83 per 12: 00.
The United States imposed tariffs of 15% on a variety of chinese products on Sunday, including shoes, watches and smart flat screen tvs, while China imposed new duties on the crude oil US during the latest escalation of the long trade war between the two largest economies in the world.
Although the us president, Donald Trump has announced that the two countries would hold talks in September, it is to be feared that such talks do not lead to a breakthrough.
“The u.s. economic data and chinese present many risks this week, which should help us to identify those who suffer the most from the trade war, but we do not believe that a solution is imminent,” said Rodrigo Catril, strategist is responsible for the operations of foreign exchange at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
The forex trading have remained subdued, the us financial markets remaining closed during the holidays of Labor day.
Against the yen, the dollar was stable at 106,31 yen.
The euro dipped slightly, gliding 1,0988, close to the lowest in two years at 1.0958 saved earlier.
Pressures have been exerted on the single currency by expectations of a lower interest rates at the next monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank, on 12 September.
The british pound was also down, trading at 1,2078.
–Reuters contributed to this report