This Monday morning, during Asian trade hours, the U.S. dollar index moved higher towards a seven month high. Traders digested a number of news items but China and U.S. trade tensions limited gains.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other Forex majors, was higher. It rose 0.1 percent to trade at 94.882.
The index at one point was near 95.131. This is close to a seven month high. It hit that high on Friday. The dollar had spiked better than one percent last week after the Federal Reserve was hawkish on further rate hikes. The European Central Bank had a more dovish tone after its policy meeting.
The dollar had some small losses against the yen. This Forex market, the USD/JPY, is seen as a broad gauge for risk appetite. The yen is a regional safe haven during times of market upheaval and political tensions.
The USD/JPY was lower. It lost 0.1 percent to trade at 110.500 yen. On Friday, it was near a multi-week high of 110.905.
Dollar and Forex Traders continue to react to Central Bank News
The EUR/USD Forex market lo ground. The euro was down 0.2 percent to trade at $1.1585. This extended losses after the euro lost 1.3 percent last week. The European Central Bank said that they keep rates near record lows into next year.
In other central bank news, the Bank of Japan joined the Fed and the ECB with its monetary policy meeting decision last Friday. Currency markets are also sensitive to the recent summit between the United States and North Korea as well as heightening trade tensions between the United States and China.
The U.S. currency managed to trade around those events. The U.S. announced a decision, on Friday, to place tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods. China said that they will respond with their own tariffs.