The euro and the pound are trying to stabilize as traders remain vigilant about the Italian budget and Brexit

SINGAPORE: The euro and the pound sterling managed to hold up against the dollar on Monday as investors cautiously awaited developments around the Brexit as well as Italy's fiscal plan that had prompted sharp criticism of the part of the European Union.

The dollar was also broadly unchanged from its major rivals. Tensions with Saudi Arabia and the West, trade frictions and uncertainties over global growth prospects have kept most currency pairs in narrow ranges.

An index measuring the dollar's value against its major competitors was stable at 95.67, after peaking at 96.09 on Friday.

The euro and the pound remained sensitive to news regarding the Brexit and to a controversial Italian budget proposal.

"The movements of the euro and the pound sterling could become increasingly sensitive to geopolitical factors such as the problem of the Italian budget and the Brexit discussions gaining greater visibility," said Jonathen Chan, analyst Market Manager at CMC Markets.

The European Commission sent a letter to Rome on Thursday calling for a draft budget to constitute an "unprecedented" breach of EU budget rules. Italy now has until Monday to explain to the Commission its breach of the rules and to face the rejection of its budget, which could eventually lead to sanctions.

The euro traded flat against the greenback on Monday, rising 1.1514 dollar upwards after gaining 0.5% against the dollar on Friday.

"The ECB is likely to take a severe tone on Italy for threatening the unity of the single market.The chances for EUR / USD have increased to be in a lower range of 1.10- 1.15 for the rest of the year, in our opinion, "said Philip Wee, rate strategist at DBS in a note.

Sterling also rallied Friday after Bloomberg News announced that British Prime Minister Theresa May was ready to abandon a key demand from Brexit in order to reach an agreement allowing Britain to leave the country. European Union (EU).

British Brexit Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday that Britain was willing to extend the post-Brexit transition period if it meant that the EU would abandon its proposals for so-called Irish support.

The British pound remained virtually unchanged at 1.3074 USD, after hitting a low of the day at 1.3009 on Friday.

The dollar was slightly higher than the Japanese yen after a brief trading on Monday. The yen hit 112.58, after peaking at 111.61 last month on October 15th.

The yen, a safe-haven currency sought in times of global uncertainty and market turmoil, had benefited from rising risk around Brexit, the Italian fiscal plan and trade tensions.

The deterioration of relations between Saudi Arabia and foreign governments after the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi had also worried investors.

Asian stocks began to tremble but stabilized after Chinese markets rallied in the hope that Beijing will step up stimulus measures to boost growth in the context of the Sino-US trade battle.

The outlook for global growth in 2019 has faded for the first time, according to polls by Reuters from economists, who warned that the US-China trade war and tighter financial conditions would trigger the next slowdown.

For the dollar, a hawkish federal reserve and signs of the strength of the US economy remain key factors.

"Markets will closely monitor the release on Friday of the advanced US GDP figure for clarity on the direction of the US dollar," said Sim Moh Siong, exchange rate strategist at the Bank of Singapore.

The Canadian dollar changed hands at 1.31 in the United States, at a low of 1.3132 on Friday, due to lower inflation and retail sales.

However, market participants are waiting for the Bank of Canada (BoC) to raise interest rates on October 24th. The central bank has raised its rates four times since July 2017 and said it wanted to tackle the burgeoning inflationary pressures.

The Australian dollar, often considered a barometer of risk appetite globally, has traded at $ 0.7109, down 0.17%, but at a low of 0, 7077 USD while the hope was to further boost China, Australia's leading trading partner.