Dollar slips against Euro and Yen

The dollar edged lower against the euro and the yen on Monday as optimism over proposed economic reforms in China bolstered sentiment and markets awaited further indications on how long the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus policies in place.

During European late morning trade, USD/JPY edged down 0.13% to 100.13, holding below the two-month highs of 100.42 struck on Friday.

The dollar slid after comments by Fed Chairwoman nominee Janet Yellen last week were seen as reiterating the need for continued stimulus to ensure a robust economic recovery.

Investors were turning their attention to the minutes of the Fed’s October meeting, as well as a speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday for further indications on the future course of U.S. monetary policy.

Elsewhere, the euro rose to more than one-week highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD edging up 0.08% to 1.3507 from Friday’s close of 1.3495.

The euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR13.1 billion in September from EUR8.6billion a year earlier, data on Monday showed, as exports rose 3%, while imports were flat.

The dollar pushed higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.15% to 1.6095.

Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHFdown 0.19% to 0.9398.

The greenback was broadly lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD rising 0.29% to 0.9398, NZD/USDclimbing 0.45% to trade at 0.8372 and USD/CAD sliding 0.15% to 1.0421.

The growth linked dollars were boosted after China outlined a series of broad economic reforms late Friday, including the easing of the one-child policy, reinforcing investor confidence in the country.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slipped 0.10% to 80.79.