SYDNEY: The dollar held above a recent 1-1/2 month trough against a basket of major currencies on Monday, with investors cautiously awaiting news on the implementation of U.S. tariffs on an additional US$200 billion of Chinese imports.U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to announce the new levies as early as Monday, a source told Reuters. "The dollar index against a basket of major currencies held at 94.965, well above Friday's 94.359 which was the lowest since end-July.The dollar was last at 111.99 yen, within kissing distance of Friday's 112.16 which was the highest since mid-July. It gained 0.9 percent last week.The dollar has seen a surge in safe-haven demand from an escalation of global trade tensions involving the United States, China, Canada and the European Union. The Aussie is among the worst-performing major currencies in the developed world so far this year, having tumbled 8.6 percent.The currency was last down 0.1 percent at $0.7146, not far from a recent 2-1/2 year trough of $0.7085.

Source: The Star September 17, 2018 00:22 UTC