Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower against a basket of other currencies on Monday as news of progress on Brexit caused sterling to surge.
“Decisive steps” have been made between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the agreements of the Brexit transition deal, officials said on Monday.
The news prompted a fresh one-month high for sterling, with GBP/USD rising 0.65% to 1.4032 as of 12:17 PM ET (16:17 GMT), below it’s day high of 1.4079.
The draft withdrawal bill was jointly published by the UK and EU and showed that complete agreement had been reached on Phase 1 points negotiated in December in regards to financial settlement and citizens’ rights. Some issues around the Irish border still exist.
On Wednesday the Fed is expected to raise rates by a quarter point at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. Investors will mostly be focusing on any indications as to the pace of monetary policy tightening for the remainder of the year.
Trade tariff uncertainty and worry that more officials could leave the White House has also weighed on investor’s minds.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.38% to 89.46, a week and a half low.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY falling 0.16% at 105.84.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took responsibility over the weekend for a loss of confidence in the government over a growing scandal than has seen his popularity plunge, but denied that he or his wife was involved in cronyism in a land deal with a school operator.
The scandal raised concerns over Abe’s ability to continue pursuing his Abenomics policies, which include aggressive monetary easing.
The euro was higher, with EUR/USD up 0.34% to 1.2332.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.05% at 0.7710, while NZD/USD rose 0.22% to 0.7234.