U.S. dollar rises on weaker euro, Swiss franc and yen

NEW YORK/LONDON: The U.S. dollar bounced to a 2-week high on Monday on weakness in the euro, Swiss franc and Japanese yen amid views that the U.S. has an advantage in growing its economy and vaccinating its population against COVID-19.

The dollar index was up 0.21pc to 90.815 at mid-morning in New York, while the euro was off 0.36pc to $1.209.

Against the Swiss franc the dollar was up 0.45pc.

The euro weakened after Germany reported that retail sales plunged by an unexpected 9.6pc in December after tighter lockdowns last year to curb the spread of COVID-19 choked consumer spending in Europe's largest economy.

The dollar may be more resilient in the near-term because "both growth and vaccination favour the U.S," said Kamal Sharma, director of G10 FX strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.

U.S.-based strategists at Wells Fargo Securities wrote, "We think USD strength still has room to run." That's especially true against more volatile securities, they added.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars gave up early gains and were down 0.1pc and 0.11pc, respectively, against the greenback.

The U.S. dollar also gained 0.3pc against the Norwegian crown to 8.5815 crowns per dollar.

Jens Naervig Pedersen, chief analyst for FX and rates strategy at Danske Bank, noted the Norway central bank's Friday announcement of a surprisingly large increase in the daily pace of its fiscal Norwegian crown buying from 800 million crowns in January to 1,700 million in February.