• The dollar held firm early on Tuesday after crawling away from an 18-day low against the yen thanks to a bounce in U.S. yields, while the Australian dollar was steady ahead of a policy decision by the country's central bank later in the day.
The U.S. currency was little changed at 110.425 yen after slipping overnight to 110.250, its lowest since May 18.
The dollar index, which tracks exchange rates against a basket of six major currencies, kept a lid on gains in bullion by edging higher on Monday. It rose about 0.10 per cent after hitting a roughly seven-month low of 96.654 Friday.
The euro was steady at $1.1255 after slipping about 0.3 percent the previous day to pull away from seven-month high scaled on the dollar's broader decline.
• U.S. services sector activity slowed in May as new orders tumbled, but a jump in employment to a near two-year high pointed to sustained labor market strength despite a deceleration in job growth last month.
The moderation in services industries production, together with other data on Monday showing orders for manufactured goods falling in April for the first time in five months and worker productivity unchanged in the first quarter, suggest limited scope for faster economic growth.
• British Prime Minister Theresa May's lead over the opposition Labour Party ahead of Thursday's national election has narrowed to just 1 percentage point, according to a poll by Survation for ITV television on Monday.
Survation said its latest poll put support for May's Conservative Party at 41.5 percent compared with 40.4 percent for Labour, a result which if replicated in the election would put in jeopardy the Conservatives' majority in parliament.
• Oil prices fell nearly 1 percent on Monday on concerns that the cutting of ties with Qatar by top crude exporter Saudi Arabia and other Arab states could hamper a global deal to reduce oil production.
The news initially pushed Brent crude prices up as much as 1.6 percent as geopolitical fears rippled through the market. But August Brent prices ended the session 48 cents or 0.96 percent lower at $49.47 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures settled 26 cents or 0.55 percent lower at $47.40. U.S. gasoline futures led the energy complex lower, falling about 2.5 percent to settle at $1.5381 a gallon, on technical selling, brokers said.
• Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain closed transport links with top liquefied natural gas (LNG) and condensate shipper Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism and undermining regional stability.
Reference: Reuters
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