Hot Now: Dollar weakens

TOKYO: The dollar struggled near a 13-month low against a basket of major currencies on Monday as U.S. political turmoil dampened hopes for quick passage of President Donald Trump´s stimulus and tax reform agendas and the euro extended gains.

The Trump administration, already dogged by investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election, took a fresh hit on Friday after White House spokesman Sean Spicer resigned, highlighting the upheaval within the president´s inner circle.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was little changed at 93.887, after touching 93.823, its lowest since June 2016."For any chance of the dollar bouncing back in the near term, it will need a rebound in U.S. yields," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior forex strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. "The current U.S. political situation is weighing heavily on U.S. yields. So we will need strong U.S. data to dislodge U.S. yields from their low levels," he said.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield hit a three-week low on Friday, as a retreat on Wall Street kindled safe-haven demand for debt.

The euro was steady at $1.1668 after inching up earlier to a 23-month high of $1.1684.