Dollar firm

TOKYO/SINGAPORE: The dollar inched higher against a basket of major peers on Monday as traders braced for new Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell´s first monetary policy meeting this week, and as the increased threat of trade protectionism kept markets on edge.

The safe haven yen edged up as investors´ risk appetites waned, with MSCI´s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipping 0.4 percent.

Traders are also nervous after weekend polls suggested a massive drop in public support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over his handling of a festering cronyism scandal, which has raised doubts about his ability to press forward with his reflationary economic agenda including monetary easing.

Speaking in parliament on Monday, Abe took responsibility for a loss of trust in his government, but denied he or his wife had intervened in a land sale to a school operator with ties to his wife.

The dollar index against a basket of six major peers rose 0.1 percent to 90.297. On Friday, the index hit a two-week high near 90.38, getting a boost after data showed a February surge in U.S. industrial production.