The dollar was mixed against developed-market peers in early trading on Monday after hitting a new four-month high in overnight trading.

The greenback was also a touch weaker against the Chinese yuan after the People’s Bank of China added to its already extensive stimulus measures since the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in cutting its medium-term financing rate to a new record low.

The measures reflated Chinese asset markets still further, leaving the benchmark stock index where it was before the New Year holiday, but have done little to lift the uncertainty over the path of the Chinese economy as it struggles with the virus outbreak.

By 3:40 AM ET (08:40 GMT), the dollar index, which tracks the dollar against half a dozen developed-market currencies, was at 99.007, thanks largely to gains against the Japanese yen in the wake of data showing that the Japanese economy shrunk at an annual pace of 6.3% in the fourth quarter.

That number was far worse than the 3.7% drop expected and came after a hike in the country’s consumption tax in October.

By 3:45 AM ET, USD/JPY was at 109.86, up 0.1%. The dollar was also a touch stronger against Sterling at $1.3029, while EUR/USD edged up from last week’s lows to $1.0838.

Source : Investing.com