Investing.com - The Australian and New Zealand dollars slipped lower against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as the greenback began to recover from the previous session's sharp losses and as markets continued to focus on the impact of natural disasters in the U.S.
AUD/USD was down 0.09% at 0.8048, after hitting a 28-month peak of 0.8125 on Friday.
Diminished expectations for a third rate hike this year coupled with worries over the economic impact of hurricanes in the southeastern U.S. weighed heavily on the greenback.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will ask Congress to speed up its efforts to overhaul the U.S. tax code, citing the potential impact of Hurricane Irma.
Hurricane Irma pummeled Florida over the weekend after devastating much of the Caribbean.
Massive storm surges have flooded areas across South Florida, while downed trees and power lines have left over 2 million residents without power.
NZD/USD edged down 0.17% to trade at 0.7254, off Friday's more than two-week high of 0.7337.
Market participants had been worried about a potential North Korean missile test on Saturday, to mark the anniversary of the founding of the nation.
However, Pyongyang chose to observe the 69th anniversary of its founding by honoring the scientists behind the massive nuclear test it conducted last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.22% at 91.51 by 02:15 a.m. ET (06:15 GMT), off Friday's 32-month low of 90.99.