The US dollar advanced against major currencies on Monday after stronger-than-expected data on US manufacturing activity and construction spending, while mounting worries of a Greek default contributed to the euro's weakness. Reports on Monday showed US manufacturing activity picked up in May and construction spending surged in April to a nearly 6-1/2-year high. The data bolstered optimism about the health of the US economy and raised confidence that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this year.
"It's a sigh of relief both to the point that the US economy is clearly picking up growth and that the stronger dollar doesn't seem to be having much of a negative impact on manufacturing," said Boris Schlossberg, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York.
"It strengthens the case for a September (rate) hike," he said. The Fed's first rate increase in nearly a decade is expected to boost the dollar by driving investment flows into the United States. Worries about Greece weighed on the euro after the country missed a self-imposed Sunday deadline for reaching an agreement with its lenders to unlock aid. The nation faces a payment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday and the expiration of its bailout program on June 30.
The euro last traded down 0.8 percent against the greenback at $1.09050, retreating from Friday's one-week high of $1.1006. The dollar hit a session high against the Japanese yen of 124.430 yen, just shy of a recent roughly 12-1/2-year high of 124.460 reached on May 28. The dollar was last up 0.12 percent against the yen at 124.320 yen and up 0.4 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.94415 franc.
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