LONDON (Reuters) – The US dollar fell on Monday as investors awaited global economic data and US corporate results to see if cautious optimism in the market over the outlook for the economy was justified.
The dollar ended a third week of losses on Friday, as investors bought high-risk currencies amid a bet that the sweeping repercussions of the pandemic are over.
And an index measuring the performance of the greenback versus a basket of major currencies 0.2 percent in early trading in London to 96.416.
Coronavirus infections increased at the weekend in the United States, and Florida registered more than 15,000 new cases in 24 hours, a record higher than the height of New York in April.
The results season begins in the United States this week and will provide another window for assessing the extent of the damage as well as the extent of recovery from the pandemic.
The euro rose 0.26 percent to $ 1.1328, maintaining a slow upward trend since late last month.
The pound rose 0.2 percent to $ 1.2641, approaching the three-week peak of $ 1.2668 touched last month.
The Australian dollar advanced 0.4 percent to $ 0.6975.
“We have seen a rapid recovery after a rapid dip in various economic data,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief exchange strategist at Mizuho Securities. But looking ahead, the improvement may slow or even deteriorate due to the second wave of injuries.
The dollar rose slightly against the Japanese currency, which is a safe haven to 106.95 yen, to remain near the lowest level in two weeks, 106.635 yen recorded on Friday.
The Chinese yuan rose 0.1 percent to seven yuan to the dollar.