Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against a basket of the other major currencies on Monday, lacking direction ahead of the U.S. Presidents Day holiday, while political woes continued to weigh on the euro.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 100.86, almost unchanged for the day.
The dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.22% to 113.08, not far from Friday’s one-week lows of 112.61.
Investors remained cautious as hopes for changes to fiscal, tax and regulatory policy under the Trump administration have so far failed to materialize.
A solo presidential press conference on Thursday added to doubts over how effective the administration will be in enacting its economic agenda.
In Japan, data overnight showed that export growth slowed in January, at a time of growing concerns over the protectionist trade stance of President Trump.
The euro edged higher, with EUR/USD inching up 0.07% to 1.0621, after ending the prior session down 0.55%.
The single currency remained under pressure amid concerns that the French left could unite behind one candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, possibly knocking centrist and right nominees out of the race in the first round.
This possible alliance could increase the chances of anti-European Union Marine Le Pen winning the presidency in the second-round runoff.
EUR/JPY was up 0.31% at 120.11 after falling 0.94% on Friday.
Meanwhile, the pound gained ground, with GBP/USD climbing 0.38% to 1.2455. Sterling ended lower on Friday after an unexpected fall in UK retail sales added to fears that rising inflation is eroding consumer spending.
The Australian dollar edged higher, with AUD/USD up 0.12% to 0.7670, while the New Zealand dollar was little changed, with NZD/USD at 0.7179.