Currency markets experience muted movements during holidays in Japan and the USA.

The dollar continued its gains in early Monday trading in Asia as a holiday in Japan affected liquidity and China's somewhat disappointing economic announcements over the weekend came into the market spotlight. The euro fell by 0.13% to $1.0922, while the pound dropped by nearly 0.2% to $1.3043. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar remained unchanged at 149.20. The dollar index was at 103.10, slightly higher and close to last week's peak, the highest level since mid-August. Traders reduced their bets on further large interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the remaining sessions of the year. Before the onshore market opened, the yuan fell by more than 0.2% against the dollar, while the Australian dollar, whose fate is closely linked to China, dropped by 0.16% to $0.67385. China announced that it would significantly increase state debt to provide subsidies for low-income individuals, support the real estate market, and boost the capital base of state banks. This is intended to help reignite the stalled economic growth. Without mentioning details on the size of the planned stimulus package, Finance Minister Lan Foan announced at a press conference that more "counter-cyclical measures" would be taken this year. Markets may be disappointed that China's finance ministry has not unveiled any concrete additional incentives, said Richard Franulovich, head of foreign exchange strategy at Westpac. He added that further measures are unlikely to be expected until progress is made in addressing the surplus housing, local government debt, and demographic challenges as China's population ages. Movements in major currencies were subdued last week. The yen and the euro both fell by about 0.3% and the British pound by 0.4%, while the dollar index rose by 0.4%. U.S. Treasury bonds are expected to provide no significant cues on Monday as both the Japanese and U.S. markets are closed due to holidays. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points each in November and December. Traders are now focusing on the U.S. trade and unemployment data on Thursday. The New Zealand dollar fell by 0.15% to $0.61 after dropping by 0.8% last week following a half-point rate cut by the central bank, coupled with indications of further cuts. Singapore’s central bank left its monetary policy stance unchanged on Monday.