On Monday the greenback edged higher versus rivals, after the release of positive U.S. economic reports on
personal spending and income and as investors eyed upcoming data on U.S.
pending home sales.
The U.S. Commerce Department said in a report that personal spending inched up 0.1% last month, below expectations for a gain of 0.2%. Personal spending dropped 0.2% in January.
The report also showed personal income rose 0.4% in February, above forecasts for a 0.3% increase and after gaining 0.4% in January.
The dollar also remained underpinned after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday that a rate hike may be warranted later this year, adding however that weakening inflation pressures could force the Fed to delay.
Ms. Yellen said policy tightening could "speed up, slow down, pause, or even reverse course" depending on how the economy is performing.
EUR/USD dropped 0.46% to 1.0840.
The euro was not impacted by official data showing that German consumer price inflation accelerated at an annualized rate of 0.3% this month, meeting forecasts and compared to a reading of 0.1% in February.
Another report showed that consumer prices in Spain fell 0.7% this month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.0%, after a 1.1% decline in February.
In the meantime, Greece remained in focus after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government put forward new reform plans for approval late Friday, as part of a bailout extension review.
The greenback was also higher vs sterling, with GBP/USD down 0.70% to 1.4786.
The Bank of England said on Monday that total net lending to individuals increased by ₤2.5 billion last month, meeting forecasts and up from ₤2.4 billion in January.
A separate report said U.K. mortgage approvals rose to a six-month high last month, indicating that the housing market is picking up.
The greenback was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.63% to 119.90 and with USD/CHF edging up 0.12% to 0.9635.
The KOF Economic Research Agency earlier reported that its index of 219 economic indicators for Switzerland inched up to 90.8 this month from a reading of 90.3 in February. Analysts had expected the economic barometer to dip to 89.1 in March.
Also today, preliminary data showed that Japan's industrial production dropped 3.4% in February, exceeding expectations for a 1.8% fall, after a 3.7% increase the previous month.
The commodity-exposed Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were down, with AUD/USD tumbling 1.23% to 0.7661 and NZD/USD retreating 0.53% to 0.7525, while USD/CAD rose 0.28% to 1.2643.
