MW: Dollar mixed in narrow ranges vs. major rivals
By MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) - The dollar gained slightly against the euro but slipped against the British pound in thin Asian trading Monday, with some markets in the region still closed for holidays.
Trading screens were dark in Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei.
The dollar index (DXY 81.16, +0.04, +0.04%) , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 81.191, compared with 81.280 in late North American trading Friday.
Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar (CUR_USDYEN 94.5100, -0.1600, -0.1690%) bought 94.48 yen, compared with 94.53 yen late Friday.
The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.3461, -0.0027, -0.2002%) slipped slightly to $1.3483 from $1.3487 late Friday, and the British pound (CUR_GBPUSD 1.5252, -0.0013, -0.0819%) rose to $1.5233 from $1.5203.
The U.S. Treasury on Saturday announced that it is delaying a report on whether China manipulates its currency, the yuan. The Treasury had been due to issue its semiannual report April 15.
The U.S. decision to delay a report on whether China is manipulating its currency stems from hope that a diplomatic solution to the dispute can be worked out, according to senior administration officials over the weekend. See full story on China yuan.
"The signal that the U.S. Treasurer is willing to negotiate should be modestly good news for risky currencies in the coming days as it reduces the probability that the U.S. will levy tariffs on Chinese goods, which would be the worst outcome for both the U.S. and China, and risky assets," currency analysts wrote Monday. "Risky" currencies refer to higher-yielding units.
On Friday, the dollar gained against other major currencies on after the U.S. Labor Department said the U.S. economy added the most number of jobs in three years. See Friday's Currencies report.
The dollar also got support from news that the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors will meet Monday to consider the discount rate, now at 0.75%, to be charged by Fed banks to institutions seeking emergency funds The Fed announced the meeting in a release Friday.
The discount window is rarely used now, so has little impact on the economy and a sign of normalizing financial markets. When the central bank last raised the discount rate, it said it wasn't an indication of monetary policy.
