NEW YORK, Dec. 30 -- The U.S. dollar weakened Monday as European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said he saw no need for further rate cuts.
Draghi said in Der Spiegel, Germany that he saw no urgent need to cut interest rate. The comment gave support to the euro.
Some hawkish statements from ECB members signaled that Europe's central bank may actually raise interest rates in 2014, noted a trader.
The U.S. dollar retreated from a five-year high against the yen on Monday as U.S. Treasury 10-year bond yields fell for the first time in six days.
Last Friday, the U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield topped 3 percent, hitting a two-and-half year high, signaling improvement in the U.S. economy. Japan's low-yielding yen hit 105 to the U.S. dollar for the first time in five years, reflecting risk appetite.
On the economic front, U.S. pending home sales index, a forward- looking indicator based on contract signings, edged up 0.2 percent to 101.7 in November from a downwardly revised 101.5 in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In late New York trading, the euro gained to 1.3804 dollars from 1.3739 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.6521 dollars from 1.6467 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.8913 dollars from 0.8865 dollars.
The dollar bought 105.11 Japanese yen, lower than 105.14 yen of the previous session. The greenback moved down to 0.8872 Swiss francs from 0.8924, and slipped to 1.0644 Canadian dollars from 1. 0707.
