U.S. Dollar Falls Before Holiday Break

The U.S. dollar dropped against its major counterparts in Asian deals on Monday in thin trading ahead of the New Year break.

Investors awaited developments on trade front after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a signing ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the Phase 1 trade deal.

China's official manufacturing PMI is due Tuesday, while the Caixin version will be released Thursday.

Investors kept a wary eye on North Korea following U.S. airstrikes in the middle east.

Trading volume continued to remain thin ahead of the New Year holidays.

The greenback depreciated to 0.9719 against the franc, its lowest since August 26. The greenback is seen locating support around the 0.96 area.

The greenback declined to more than a 2-week of 109.07 against the yen, from last week's closing value of 109.41. The greenback may test support around the 106.00 level, if it drops further.

The greenback slipped to an 11-day low of 1.3125 against the pound and a 4-1/2-month low of 1.1211 against the euro and held steady thereafter. The U.S. currency had ended Friday's trading at 1.3080 against the pound and 1.1176 against the euro.

Retreating from an early high of 1.3085 against the loonie, the greenback edged down to a session's low of 1.3064. If the greenback slides further, it may find support near the 1.28 level.

The greenback fell to more than 5-month lows of 0.6999 against the aussie and 0.6720 against the kiwi, off its previous highs of 0.6978 and 0.6695, respectively. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around 0.71 against the aussie and 0.68 against the kiwi.

Looking ahead, Swiss KOF leading indicator for December is due out in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. pending home sales, wholesale inventories and advance goods trade data, all for November, are scheduled for release.