2019.08.1217:16:00UTC+00Dollar Exhibits Weakness Against Major Currencies

The U.S. dollar recovered from early losses but still stayed below the unchanged line Monday afternoon. Movements were sluggish amid speculation global central banks will continue to remain dovish with regards to monetary policy amid rising concerns about the impact of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.

Traders were also looking ahead to some crucial economic data for direction. Volumes were rather thin in the session.

The dollar index, which eased to 97.32 in late morning trades, recovered some lost ground subsequently and was last seen quoting at 97.41, down 0.08% from previous close.

Against the euro, the dollar weakened to 1.1215, down about 0.12% from previous close.

The sterling rose to $1.2106 early on in the session, and despite easing to $1.2075 later on, was still up notably, gaining 0.4% over Friday's close.

The Japanese yen hit its highest level in about 18 months against the dollar, rising to 105.26. The currency later edged up to 105.30 yen a dollar.

An intensification of trade tensions, especially between the U.S. and China, is having considerable adverse effects on the world economy, the German think tank ifo said in a report released Monday.

Elsewhere, economists at Goldman Sachs warned that the trade war is having a larger-than-expected impact on the U.S. economy.

The ifo World Economic Climate indicator dropped to -10.1 in the third quarter from -2.4 in the previous three months, the ifo report showed. In the first quarter, the reading was -13.1.

The current situation index of the survey fell to -5.4 from 1.4 in the previous quarter. The reading was the weakest since January 2017, when it was in negative territory last time.

The expectations measure dropped to -14.7 from -6.1. In the first quarter, the reading was -27.7.

"The intensification of the trade conflict is having a considerable detrimental effect on the world economy," ifo Institute President Clemens Fuest said.