The U.S. dollar steadied near a two-week low on Monday as investors scaled back bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year, while the yen remained pinned near a 40-year low, keeping investors nervous about what Tokyo might do next.<\/p>\n
Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar steadied near a two-week low on Monday as investors\u00a0scaled back bets on a\u00a0Federal Reserve<\/a> rate hike this year, while the yen\u00a0remained pinned near a 40-year\u00a0low, keeping investors nervous about what Tokyo might do next.<\/p>\n The euro<\/a>\u00a0was at $1.1435, not far from its strongest level in two weeks, while sterling<\/a>\u00a0last bought $1.3351. The dollar index<\/a>, which measures the U.S. currency against six other units, was at 100.9 in early trading.<\/p>\n The yen<\/a>\u00a0was at 161.57 per U.S. dollar, just off the 1986 low of 162.84 it touched last week,\u00a0as traders\u00a0remain nervous about possible\u00a0intervention\u00a0after a sudden\u00a0surge in buying briefly lifted the currency on Thursday.<\/p>\n The South Korean won<\/a>\u00a0firmed a touch on the first day of its historic 24-hour onshore spot dollar-won trading. It was fetching 1,534 per dollar.<\/p>\n Dollar on backfoot<\/p>\n The U.S. dollar clocked its biggest weekly drop last week since April after the U.S.\u00a0payrolls report\u00a0showed job growth slowed sharply in June, easing market expectations of a rate hike from the Fed.<\/p>\n OCBC strategists though said the decline in the unemployment rate points to a still-tight labor market and should help keep Fed tightening expectations intact.<\/p>\n “The broader USD outlook remains constructive,” they said, maintaining their view of a moderate 2-3% appreciation in the dollar\u00a0in the\u00a0second half of 2026.<\/p>\n The dwindling oil prices have helped ease some of the inflationary concerns, with investor focus this week on the minutes of the Fed’s June meeting to help gauge policymakers’ thinking around the rates outlook.<\/p>\n Strategists at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said the minutes may be shorter or provide less insight than usual given Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s view the central bank has provided too much guidance in the past.<\/p>\n