Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the yen in thin trade on Monday, after data on Friday showing that U.S. new home sales fell last month added to uncertainty over how soon the Federal Reserve will start to scale back stimulus measures. During European morning trade, the dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.23% to 98.50. The dollar pulled away from three-week highs against the yen on Friday after the Commerce Department said U.S. new home sales fell by a larger-than-forecast 13.4% in July, the largest decline in more than three years. The weak data sparked concerns over the strength of the recovery in the housing sector and fuelled speculation over whether the Fed will start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program next month. The dollar inched higher against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.08% to 1.3367. The single currency remained supported after a senior European Central Bank policymaker said Friday he did not see many arguments for a rate cut following a recent series of improved economic data from the region. The dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.05% to 1.5575. The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.20% to trade at 0.9235. Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD edging up 0.06% to 0.9030, NZD/USD advancing 0.38% to 0.7838 and USD/CAD rising 0.18% to 1.0516. In New Zealand, data on Monday showed that the trade balance swung into a larger than expected deficit of NZD774 million in July, from a surplus of NZD374 million the previous month. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched up 0.06% to 81.44. Investors were looking ahead to U.S. data on durable goods orders later in the day, while trade volumes were expected to remain light with markets in the U.K. closed for a national holiday.

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