LONDON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. dollar fell versus most major rivals Monday, losing ground after finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations made no specific mention of the currency in a joint communique at their weekend meeting.
Remarks by euro-zone officials last week had led to heightened expectations that the statement would include language specifically calling for a stronger dollar.
The lack of an explicit mention for the greenback triggered the liquidation of some long U.S. dollar positions early Monday, said Kenneth Broux, market economist at Lloyds TSB.
The euro bought $1.4612, up from $1.4576 late Friday.
The dollar index (DXY 76.92, -0.07, -0.09%) , a measure of the U.S. currency against a trade-weighted basket of rivals, fell to 76.845 from 77.09.
The gathering of G7 finance ministers and central bankers took place on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Istanbul.
In its statement, the G7 repeated that countries would continue to monitor foreign-exchange rates and welcomed China's "continued commitment to move to more flexible exchange rates." Read more on G7.
Remarks in Istanbul by Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii signaled again that the government would step in if it believed the yen's movements had become excessive, news reports said.
"As I have said in Tokyo, we will take appropriate steps if one-sided movements become excessive," he told a post-G7 joint conference, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Strategists said that helped boost the dollar and other currencies versus the Japanese unit. Fujii has in recent weeks issued repeated warnings about the willingness of Japan to intervene in foreign-exchange markets after having initially signaled comfort with the yen's recent strength.
The dollar bought 89.91 yen, up from 89.66 yen in late U.S. trading Friday. The euro rose 0.6% to 131.585 yen.
The euro was also buoyed by Ireland's overwhelming approval of an agreement to overhaul the European Union's decision-making process in Friday's referendum. Results released Saturday showed Irish voters approved the Lisbon Treaty with a 67% "yes" vote, a reversal from a 54% "no" vote in June 2008. See full story.
Failure to ratify the treaty would likely have put heavy pressure on Irish and possibly other peripheral euro-zone government bonds, perhaps raising long-term concerns about the viability of the single currency, economists said.
The euro trimmed gains ahead of the release of data that showed retail sales across the 16-nation euro zone fell 0.2% in August.
The British pound traded at $1.5926 versus the dollar, little changed from late Friday. The euro rose to 91.75 pence.
The pound posted little reaction to a stronger-than-expected rise in the CIPS/Markit September purchasing-managers index for the services sector. The index rose to a two-year high of 55.3 from 54.1 in August, and exceeded forecasts for a more modest rise to 54.4. See full story.
A reading of more than 50 means a majority of managers saw growth in activity, while a figure of less than 50 indicates contraction.
Economists said the rise helped offset disappointing PMI data seen last week for the manufacturing and construction sectors, pointing to a small rise in gross domestic product for the third quarter. Doubts remain, however, over the strength of a recovery as stimulus efforts fade and households and businesses continue to shore up their balance sheets, they said.
