– A wavering dollar teetered near multi-month lows on Monday in a market unsettled by the U.S. Treasury’s ​promise to buy back more long bonds, while traders awaited details of sanctions on Iran and on policy ‌speeches this week in the U.S. and Japan.

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.2% in early trade, to C$1.3798 per dollar, after trade talks with the U.S. collapsed and Washington imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, with Canada retaliating in kind.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars traded just shy of three-month highs at $0.7171 and $0.5979 ​respectively.

The euro was comfortably above $1.16 at $1.1685 while the yen kept to the strong side of 159 per dollar.

Friday data showing ​the strongest U.S. services growth in nearly two years in August held off dollar sellers in steady early ⁠trade.

The dollar logged its largest weekly drop against bitcoin in nearly three-and-a-half years on Sunday and it’s been sliding sharply on gold over revived fears the ​currency will suffer if the U.S. tries to hold down yields.

Long-end yields have been climbing globally on a combination of a solid economic ​growth outlook, rising inflation expectations and nerves about ballooning sovereign debts.

Last week, after 30-year yields hit almost two-decade highs, the U.S. Treasury announced it would double buybacks at the long end to $4 billion per operation.
The size is paltry in a market worth $32 trillion but the interventionist signal spooked traders and hit the dollar.

“The ​U.S. Treasury’s attempts to artificially hold down long-term bond yields appears to be reigniting the $US debasement trade,” said Shane Oliver, head ​of investment strategy at Australian financial services firm AMP.

The mood was keeping Australian dollar above 71 cents, he said.
Sterling was firm at $1.3650 in morning trade ‌and the ⁠yuan , which notched an eighth straight weekly rise last week, hovered near a 3/1-2 year high at 6.7222 per dollar.

SANCTIONS AND WARSH

Later on Monday, at 1800 GMT, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to hold a press conference after threatening “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, with markets focused on whether he will target China.

Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed the threat of new U.S. sanctions as a sign of ​desperation.

Market participants will also be ​hoping for some clarity on ⁠the outlook for U.S. interest rates when Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.

He is also sure to face questions about Treasury’s buybacks.

“Any comments on the balance sheet, ​duration supply, or term premium could move the long end more than the data itself. That ​said, given Warsh’s ⁠typically restrained style, we aren’t holding our breath,” said BNY strategist Geoff Yu.

A Thursday appearance by Bank of Japan deputy governor Ryozo Himino will also be closely watched as a prelude to next month’s policy meeting. In particular, investors will be looking to see if he pushes back ⁠on a ​shift in market pricing to see a faster pace of hikes.

“Himino may signal ​the BOJ is moving closer to another interest rate hike,” said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso.

“However, any hawkish comments are likely to exert only modest downward ​pressure on USD/JPY. Developments in the U.S. bond market area are a more important driver of USD/JPY.”

Gold prices increased in domestic and foreign markets, with the rate of gold in the international bullion market shooting up by $57 an ounce to $4,604.

The gold price in Pakistan went up by Rs5,700 per tola, reaching Rs482,936.

The price of 10 grams of gold too went up by Rs4,972 to Rs414,039.

Meanwhile the price of silver was constant. Silver Rs7,379 per tola and Rs6,326 per 10 grams.

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal bin Saqib said on Saturday that the new regulations on virtual asset services have been notified and legalised and this step will protect digital investors from fraud.

Under the system, Pakistan would license and regulate virtual asset service providers. The regulations, which are part of the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, list ten types of licences, including exchange, custody, broker-dealer, advisory, lending and borrowing, derivatives, asset management, transfer and settlement, issuance and mining related services.

Each category puts up detailed standards including conduct, prudential, technology and anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the funding of “terrorism” (CFT).

The action is part of Pakistan’s broader attempt to formalise the oversight of cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies, bringing a largely uncontrolled industry under a framework in line with global norms to promote transparency, compliance and investor protection.

“This means that now there is a clear framework, a licensing process and a legal front door for any business that wants to provide virtual asset services in Pakistan, whether they are Pakistani or global,” Saqib said in a televised statement.

The rules would help safeguard investors in digital currencies from fraud and put the entire crypto market under the rule of law, the official added.

In Pakistan, the crypto market has been operating without any law and millions of people were participating in trading of digital currencies,” he said.

“But there were no regulations, no regulations at all,” he claimed. “And when such a big economic activity is outside the law, the risk is on both sides.

In a separate news release by PVARA, the authority said existing virtual asset operators need to apply for a no-objection certificate with the authority by September 5.

“Any person who was providing virtual asset services before the commencement of the Act shall submit a NOC application by such date or shall cease to provide virtual asset services,” PVARA added. “After that date, operating without an application is an offense.”

Licensed virtual asset service providers must maintain customer holdings distinct from their own and cannot lend or pledge them without prior approval, said PVARA. “Promises will be binding commitments,” the authority added.

The authority said it will allow licensed providers to get into the formal banking system.