The U.S. dollar declined Monday, with crude oil prices advancing as Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip continued. The Swiss franc, a traditional safe haven currency, and the commodity-based Australian dollar, both gained more than 2% versus the U.S. dollar. The euro advanced to $1.4271, up about 1.7% from $1.4031 in late North American trading on Friday. "Euro strength and dollar weakness further emerge in thin trading activity as geopolitical uncertainty creeps higher," said Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. The third day of air strikes targeting the militant group Hamas came after sustained rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. See more on air strikes. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major counterparts, stood at 80.05 compared with 80.91 on Friday. Dollar weakness typically corresponds to gains in dollar-denominated commodities such as gold and oil. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.36, or 6.7%, to $37.71 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. See oil story. Gold futures rose $9.60, or 1.1%, to $880.90 an ounce. It earlier rose to its highest level in almost two months. See gold report. The dollar fell about 2.3% versus the Swiss franc to $1.045. The Australian dollar rose about 2% versus the U.S. currency, to 69.5 cents. The euro soared to a new record high against the British pound on Monday. The common currency advanced 1.7% to a high of 97.58 pence.

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