Dollar declines amid expectations that interest rates will not be raised in US

The dollar fell in cautious trading on Monday, as investors evaluated US jobs data, which included signs of a slowdown, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve has likely reached the end of its monetary tightening cycle.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of currencies, fell 0.048 percent to 104.18, but remained close to the two-month peak of 104.44 that it touched on August 25. The index rose 1.7 percent in August, ending a two-month losing streak.

With US markets closed on Monday, liquidity is likely to be weak and traders will be reluctant to make big bets.

Data published on Friday showed US job growth accelerated in August, but the unemployment rate jumped to 3.8 percent and wage increases slowed.

The yen rose 0.06 percent to $146.16. Since mid-August, the Asian currency has been trading around the psychologically important level of 145, with traders awaiting any indications of the possibility of the authorities intervening to support the currency.

Japan intervened in the currency markets last September when the dollar rose above 145 yen, prompting the Ministry of Finance to buy the yen and push the exchange rate to about 140 yen.

The euro rose 0.06 percent to $1.078, while the British pound reached $1.2602, rising 0.11 percent during the day.

The Australian dollar increased 0.2 percent to $0.6463 before the policy meeting that the Reserve Bank of Australia will hold on Tuesday, during which it is expected to maintain its policies.

Regarding cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin rose 0.95 percent to $25,997.50 and Ethereum rose 0.67 percent to $1,638.30.