Forexpros – The greenback firmed against the world’s major currencies on Monday, as a deadline approached for Greece to accept austerity measures in exchange for E.U. financial assistance, while strong jobs data out of Washington on Friday further bolstered the greenback.
In early Asian trading on Monday, EUR/USD fell 0.56% to 1.3084 early in the Asian session.
Greece is close to working out a debt restructuring agreement with its private creditors, although no deal has been inked as of yet, which has markets on edge.
Furthermore, Greece has a day or so to formally agree to accept austerity measures asked by the E.U. as part of an aid agreement.
Agreeing to restructuring terms with private creditors as well as to austerity measures are prerequisites for access to aid.
Furthermore, the dollar remains buoyed by Friday’s jobs data.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in January, the economy added a net 243,000 nonfarm payrolls, well above an expected gain of 150,000.
Meanwhile, the dollar was up against the pound, with Cable falling 0.26% to hit 1.5773.
The greenback was up 0.15% against the yen, with USD/JPY trading at 76.72, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.40% to 0.9218.
The greenback was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.18% at 0.9952, AUD/USD down 0.54% at 1.0712 and NZD/USD down 0.54% at 0.8315.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.21% at 79.22.
On Monday, the Reserve Bank of Australia will decide whether or not to move on interest rates, while later in the day, New Zealand is to publish official data on labor cost inflation, a key indicator of consumer inflation.
In Europe, the Sentix report on investor confidence, a key gauge of economic health, will hit the wire, while Germany is to publish official data on factory orders.
Also Monday, Canada is to produce a report on the Ivey purchasing managers’ index, a leading indicator of economic health.
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