Dollar Falls as Government Shuts Down

The U.S. dollar slid to its lowest value in 10 months after the Congressional deadlock led to a government shutdown.

The dollar fell 0.3 percent to $1.6233 versus the British pound at the end of the trading day after touching as low as $1.6247. It also dropped 0.1 percent to $1.3541 per euro.

“The market is anticipating that a shutdown means the Federal Reserve will also maintain its easy policy stance for longer because of the risks to the U.S. economy,” Greg Gibbs, a senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Singapore, told Bloomberg News. “We are seeing some strength in the European currencies and a bit of weakness in the U.S. dollar.”