Dollar recovers lost ground

LONDON, Apr 4 (MarketWatch): The US dollar recovered lost ground Monday, edging slightly higher versus the euro and trading flat against the Japanese yen as investors' appetite for risky assets appeared to wane. Overall activity was subdued, with investors awaiting this week's meetings of key monetary-policy makers, including the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of Australia. "Risk currencies are benefiting from the renewed interest in the carry trade as currency markets begin to price in a shift in monetary policy across the" Group of 20, said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT. Risk appetite got a boost Friday from stronger-than-expected US employment data, although the impact was tempered by remarks from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley, who signaled that some Fed officials remain reluctant to begin unwinding the central bank's accommodative bias just yet. The dollar index (DXY 75.83, -.00, -0.01 per cent) , a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of major rivals, slipped to 75.835 from 75.857 in North American trade late Friday. See real-time currency rates and tools. The dollar (USDYEN 83.8800, -0.2600, -0.3090 per cent) traded at 84.07 yen, virtually unchanged from Friday. The euro (EURUSD 1.4229, -0.0003, -0.0211 per cent) declined to $1.4211 from $1.4229 versus the dollar. The 17-nation shared currency traded at ¥119.51 against the yen, down 0.3 per cent. The euro put in a strong first-quarter performance, recovering from a January low below $1.3000 as ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet and other central-bank officials began highlighting inflationary threats. The ECB is widely expected on Thursday to deliver its first rate hike since 2008.