New York - The euro edged slightly higher against the dollar Monday in a foreign exchange market that was mostly quiet for the lack of news.
At 01:00 South African time the euro bought $1.3507, compared to $1.3493 late Friday.
The yen gained against both currencies; the dollar traded at 99.93 yen, down from 100.12; and the euro bought 134.97 yen, compared to 135.16 Friday.
Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management said Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen's decidedly dovish testimony in a Senate hearing on her nomination to lead the Fed last week continued to shape the market.
“On a fundamental basis, last week's softer US economic reports and dovish comments from Janet Yellen supports a short term move higher in the (euro-dollar rate), but the gains will be limited because the Fed is delaying, not cancelling, their plans to taper.”
“While we believe there's a very good chance that this week's eurozone reports will surprise to the upside, proving that the euro deserves its near term strength, there's always scope for a downside surprise.”
The eurozone will see several data releases on business and purchasing manager sentiment over the coming week.
The British pound was barely changed at $1.6110, from $1.6113
Friday. The dollar slipped to 0.9126 Swiss franc from 0.9141 franc. - Sapa-AFP
