TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar sagged against its major peers on Monday, losing traction as U.S. Treasury yields stayed low amid fading expectations that the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates again later this year.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was a fraction lower at 97.239 <.dxy>, adding to Friday's losses when it fell 0.4 percent.The index had climbed to a one-month peak of 97.871 earlier last week, supported by expectations that the Fed, fresh from a mid-June rate hike, would tighten policy again as early as September.But such expectations ebbed over the course of a week, with investors doubtful of another rate increase this year as U.S. data on balance have fallen short of forecasts."The main reason behind the weakness of the dollar, which has lost its upward momentum since the Fed rate hike, is U.S. yields stuck at low altitude," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo."Yields appear to better reflect U.S. fundamentals relative to equities, and in focus this week are political developments and the various indicators due for release."U.S. data due next week include the June consumer confidence indicator, pending home sales, crude oil inventories, revised first quarter GDP and the PCE price index.