Dollar weak on murky US economic data

TOKYO: The dollar moved narrowly against the yen and euro in Asia on Monday amid a mixed bag of US data that failed to give a clear picture of the health of the world's biggest economy.

The dollar fetched 83.43 yen in Tokyo morning trade, almost unchanged from late Friday in New York.

The euro bought $1.3165, a shade lower than $1.3175 in New York. Against the Japanese unit, the euro briefly topped 110 yen for the first time since October last year before easing slightly to 109.92 yen, against 109.82 yen in New York.

On Friday, the dollar slipped against a string of major currencies on the mixed data.

The drop "will likely herald a cautious start to the week and intense interest on speeches" from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley and Fed chief Ben Bernanke later in the week, National Australia Bank said in a note Monday.

Market players were waiting for a string of US housing data due to be released later in the week after a batch of figures released last week dampened hopes that the US economic recovery was gaining strength. (AFP)