Doha: The US dollar held onto its gains on Monday, while the collapse in precious metals prices shook financial markets, as investors focused on assessing the approach that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) led by Kevin Warsh might take. The dollar was steady in Asian trading after rising on Friday following US President Donald Trump's selection of Warsh as the next head of the Federal Reserve.

According to Qatar News Agency, the dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of currencies, was most recently at 97.21, after a jump of 1 percent on Friday. The euro remained away from the USD 1.20 level, settling at USD 1.1848, while the British pound fell 0.16 percent to USD 1.3664. The Japanese currency eased slightly, registering 154.82 yen per dollar on Monday.

The Australian dollar fell 0.67 percent to USD 0.6916. The Reserve Bank of Australia will set interest rates on Tuesday, and forecasts indicate it will raise them. The New Zealand dollar also declined, down 0.37 percent to USD 0.5997.