LOS ANGELES MarketWatch (21/10) — The
U.S. dollar ticked higher Monday after suffering some losses late last
week, but several analysts forecast a move lower for the greenback in
the days ahead.Monday afternoon in East Asia saw the
ICE dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of
six major rivals, inching up to 79.679 , compared to 79.649 late Friday
in North America.The WSJ Dollar Index, an alternative measure of the U.S. unit, ticked to 72.08, up from Friday’s 72.03. Both indexes saw little movement Friday after chalking up losses Thursday.Despite Monday’s modest gains, Royal
Bank of Canada senior currency strategist Sue Trinh noted that the
dollar remained not far from its lowest levels of the year, with the
market pricing in a delayed start to the Federal Reserve’s plan to slow
the pace of its stimulus.Such a delay to the Fed’s so-called
“taper” was based on the central bank’s likely concern over another
battle in the Congress that could again shut down government operations
or threaten a U.S. default.The euro was little changed Monday,
buying $1.3675, down nominally from late Friday’s $1.3680. The British
pound also moved sideways to $1.6165, against $1.6168 at the end of the
previous week.Among the top Asian currency pairs, the
dollar rose against the Japanese yen to buy ¥98.01, up from ¥ 97.84
Friday, while the Australian dollar held at 96.69 U.S. cents, little
moved from 96.67 U.S. cents.
