TOKYO: The dollar sagged on Tuesday, knocked away from an eight-month highs versus the yen down as Treasury yields slipped on uncertainty over whether the Republicans can pass their tax bill in a timely manner.
The Australian dollar held steady, showing little response to the Reserve Bank of Australia´s (RBA) well-anticipated decision to stand pat on monetary policy.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was a shade lower at 94.729, slipping slightly from a 10-day peak of 95.077 reached on Monday.
Against the yen, the dollar nudged up 0.15 percent to 113.870 yen, but still some distance from 114.735 struck the previous day, its highest since mid-March.
The euro was steady at $1.1613 following its descent to a 10-day trough of $1.1580 overnight.
The greenback had been solid after strong U.S. services and factory data issued before the weekend backed expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month and tighten further in 2018.But the currency sagged as such expectations failed to lift Treasury yields.
The benchmark 10-year yield has slipped steadily towards 2.30 percent after peaking at a seven-month high of 2.47 percent in late October.