Forexpros – The U.S. dollar extended gains against its major counterparts on Monday, as hopes for a plan to resolve the two-year old debt crisis in the euro zone ahead of an upcoming European Union summit faded following comments by Germany’s finance minister.
During U.S. morning trade the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD tumbling 0.85% to hit 1.3764.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the EU summit, due to be held on October 23, would not yield a definitive solution to the financial crisis in the euro zone.
The euro was broadly higher earlier amid hopes for a plan to restructure Greek debt, recapitalize European banks and bolster the euro zone’s bailout fund in time for the summit.
The greenback was also up against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.25% to hit 1.5779.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the safe haven yen but remained higher against the Swiss franc with USD/JPY falling 0.52% to hit 76.80 and USD/CHF climbing 0.71% to hit 0.8980.
In Japan, the government downgraded its outlook for the economy for the first time in six months earlier, amid concerns over the impact of the persistently strong yen on the nation’s exporters.
Meanwhile, the greenback was stronger against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD rising 0.49% to hit 1.0145, AUD/USD slumping 0.94% to hit 1.0242 and NZD/USD falling 0.96% to hit 0.7975.
Earlier in the day, a government report showed that foreign investors’ acquisitions of Canadian securities declined more-than-expected in August.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.51% to hit 77.27.
Also Monday, official U.S. data showed that manufacturing conditions in New York State improved less-than-expected in October, remaining in negative territory for the fifth consecutive month.
A separate report showed that U.S. industrial production rose in line with expectations in September.
