Investing.com - The dollar remained lower against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, holding just under a 11-1/2 year peak as investors locked in profits from Friday's rally sparked robust U.S. jobs data.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 97.69, off Friday’s highs of 97.84, the strongest since September 2003.
Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. employment report solidified expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates around the middle of this year, boosting the dollar.
EUR/USD was last up 0.09% to 1.0851, recovering from overnight lows of 1.0823.
The euro remained under pressure as the eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers prepared to hold talks to discuss a reform package put forward by Greece as part of its bailout review.
Last month Athens reached a temporary agreement with its lenders to extend its bailout by four months, but the reform package must be signed off by creditors before it can access further financial aid.
Ahead of the talks eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem warned that Greece must stop wasting time and start developing its reform package.
Also Monday, the European Central Bank confirmed that it started asset purchases under its quantitative easing program.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.34% to 121.22, holding below Friday’s three-month highs of 121.27, while USD/CHF added 0.11% to 0.9865.
Sterling gained ground, with GBP/USD climbing 0.40% to 1.5097.
AUD/USD slipped 0.12% to 0.7713, while NZD/USD was little changed at 0.7356. The commodity exposed currencies found some support after data on Sunday showed that Chinese exports picked up in the first two months of this year.
Separately, USD/CAD was down 0.17% to 1.2602. Official data on Monday showed that Canadian housing starts rose by 156,300 units last month, below expectations for an increase of 179,000. January's figure was revised to a 187,000 gain from a previously estimated 187,300 rise.