Dollar mixed as investors 'wait and see'

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The dollar was mixed Monday on a quiet day for currency trading as investors wait for reports later in the week on the U.S. and European economies.

The 15-nation currency traded at $1.478 in New York, down from $1.48 late Friday.

The British pound was quoted at $1.8560, up slightly from $1.8526 on Friday. The American currency bought Japanese ¥109.17, down from ¥110.08.

The currency market "is in for another wait-and-see session," said Stephen Maylon, a currency analyst at Scotia Capital in Toronto.

Oil prices rose overnight but have eased in afternoon trade. The greenback has tended to fall against the euro when crude prices rise.

Despite Monday's pull back in oil prices, the dollar could not muster a rally.

"Oil has come off and the dollar has been lackluster," Maylon said.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales by homeowners in July increased to an annual pace of 5 million, up from the revised June reading of 4.85 million.

While that's better than the annual pace of 4.9 million that economists were expecting, July sales were still down 13.2% from a year earlier.

The report also showed an estimated 11.2 month supply of homes on the market.

Monday's report was a "mixed bag," Malyon said. And the dollar "didn't respond to the housing data."

But a report due out overnight on the German economy and another report on the U.S. housing market due out Tuesday "could make things more interesting later in the week," he added.

Currency trading was thin Monday as many investors in Britain were off for an annual bank holiday.