TOKYO: The dollar sagged against its peers on Monday as a U.S. government shutdown dented sentiment, although losses were limited for now as investors took a wait-and-see stance on developments in Washington.
In order to break the impasse, Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate held talks on Sunday. The Senate was expected to vote at 0600 GMT on whether to advance a measure to fund the government through Feb. 8.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was 0.1 percent lower at 90.490 .DXY but managed to hold above a three-year trough of 90.113 set on Thursday.
“The shutdown is also not expected to last a very long time. That said, if the shutdown stretches out to several weeks, then we would have to start worrying about the negative impact to the U.S. economy.â€
The dollar was 0.15 percent lower at 110.685 yen JPY=, still some distance from a four-month low of 110.190 plumbed on Wednesday.
Despite the headwinds from the political impasse in Washington, the greenback received some support from higher U.S. yields.
The 10-year Treasury yield US10Y=RR rose to a 3-1/2-year high of 2.663 percent on Friday with the debt market having been on the defensive through much of last week in the wake of a rally in risk asset markets.
The Australian dollar climbed 0.2 percent to $0.8001Â AUD=D4Â and the New Zealand dollar advanced 0.15 percent to $0.7289Â NZD=D4.
The pound dipped 0.1 percent to $1.3889 GBP=D3, pulling away from a 1-1/2-year top of $1.3942 reached on Wednesday. —Reuters
