Dollar Falls with focus on Rates Hike Prospects Elsewhere

The dollar fell on Monday, heading towards its lowest level in a month, as traders continued to focus on the prospects of rising interest rates and tightening monetary policy outside the United States.

Currency markets were generally calm at the start of the week as traders awaited US growth data and central bank meetings in the Eurozone, Japan, and Canada.

The currency’s decline pushed the dollar index to its lowest level in a month in Asian trading and extended its decline after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Friday that it was not yet time to start raising interest rates. The index recovered some of its losses to a record 93,542, down 0.1 percent.

Among the beneficiaries of the dollar’s decline were commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand dollars, which also benefited from higher commodity prices.

The euro was little changed at the level of 1.1647 dollars, and the yen fell, so the dollar rose against it by 0.2 percent to 113.66 yen to the dollar.

In China, the yuan hit a five-month high of 6.3782 yuan per dollar, while the Turkish lira fell to a new record, following a surprise rate cut last week.