Forexpros – The U.S. dollar remained broadly higher against its major counterparts on Monday, as growing concerns over a possible default by Greece fanned fears over contagion to the euro zone’s banking sector.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.59% to hit 1.3309.
Concerns over a debt default by Greece mounted after the Greek government said Sunday it will miss its deficit reduction targets this year.
Later in the day, euro zone finance ministers were to meet to discuss options for increasing the capacity of the region’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.60% to hit 1.5489.
The pound shrugged off a report showing that manufacturing activity in the U.K. rebounded from a 26-month low in September.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen but higher against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY shedding 0.32% to hit 76.79 and USD/CHF rising 0.40% to hit 0.9114.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that Swiss retail sales fell unexpectedly in August.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in Switzerland fell more-than-expected in September, falling below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction for first time since August 2009, as the strength of the Swiss franc and uncertainty in the global economy weighed.
Meanwhile, the greenback was almost unchanged against its Canadian counterpart but was higher against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD easing up 0.05% to hit 1.0507, AUD/USD slipping 0.42% to hit 0.9622 and NZD/USD sliding 0.19% to hit 0.7599.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.40% to hit 79.58.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to publish data on manufacturing activity.
