US dollar trades mixed amid light trading

The US dollar traded mixed against major currencies on Monday amid light trading and continuous speculations on the Federal Reserve's tapering decision. Market trading volume was low as Monday fell on the U.S. national holiday of the Veterans Day, with no government economic reports on tap. The greenback rallied against major currencies after the Labor Department said on Friday the U.S. private employers added 204,000 positions in October, and the unemployment rate, based on a separate survey which counted the furloughed federal employees as out of job, edged up to 7.3 percent. Investors are trying to figure out whether the Fed would start to taper quantitative easing as early as December, taking into consideration the job data and upbeat U.S. GDP data released Thursday. The euro strengthened against the dollar on Monday, rebounding from a two-month low of 1.3295 dollars Thursday after the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent to boost economy. With a relatively light economic calendar this week, investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen's confirmation testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.3408 dollars from 1.3355 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.5992 dollars from 1.6002 dollars. The Australian dollar dropped to 0.9355 dollar from 0.9375 dollar. The dollar bought 99.21 Japanese yen, higher than 99.15 yen of the previous session. The dollar moved down to 0.9193 Swiss franc from 0.9277 Swiss franc and it edged down to 1.0473 Canadian dollars from 1.0488 Canadian dollars.