Dollar retreats after Friday's gains; inflation data eyed

NEW YORK: The US dollar edged lower on Monday, but clung to most of its gains following Friday's robust US jobs report, as investors await inflation data this week that may signal a turnaround in the currency's weakness this year.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major rival currencies, was down 0.07 percent to 93.473.

The index rose 0.76 percent on Friday as strong employment data bolstered the case the further monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

The greenback gained against the New Zealand dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar on Monday. .

"The dollar is a little bit firmer on balance, sort of extending some of its gains against some of the G10 currencies, after last week's robust job report," said Erik Nelson, currency strategist at Wells Fargo Securities in New York.

"We have a view that the US dollar is due for some mild corrective strength in the near-term and we see some confirming price action from some of the key G10 currency pairs," he said.

"Some of these dollar-bloc currencies are starting to show signs of maybe rolling over in the near-term."

Despite Friday's boost, the dollar index is down 8.5 percent for the year.

"To get another significant break higher in the dollar, especially against the euro, you are going to need both comments from policy makers in the US as well as solid US data, particularly inflation data," Nelson said.

Investors will keenly peruse remarks from several Fed speakers this week, including St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari, on Monday.

US producer prices for July due on Thursday and consumer price index figures on Friday should confirm whether labor market strength is spilling over into inflation.

"There's certainly some wait-and-see behavior today," Nelson said.

The greenback was up 0.14 percent against the yen to 110.83 yen and sterling was down 0.14 percent against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the euro shrugged off an unexpected fall in German industrial production in June and rose 0.2 percent against the dollar to 1.1791.

The British pound slipped to a 10-month low against the euro, as investors bet the Bank of England would keep interest rates at record lows for the coming months, while the European Central Bank moves towards tightening.