Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, as expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the coming months continued to support the greenback.
Demand for the dollar remained supported by expectations for higher interest rates, as investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.32% to 99.93, the highest level since March 17.
EUR/USD dropped 0.42% to one-month lows of 1.0558.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable amid ongoing uncertainty over Greece’s bailout. Talks between Athens and its lenders on proposed economic reforms were expected to resume later Monday, ahead of a meeting of euro area finance ministers on April 24.
The pound pulled away from five-year lows of 1.4566, with GBP/USD last at 1.4634.
Sterling remained under pressure after data on Friday showed that U.K. industrial production edged up 0.1% in February, undershooting forecasts of a 0.4% gain.
The smaller than expected increase in industrial output was due in large part to a 12% annual decline in oil and gas production, the largest drop since August 2013.
The soft data sparked concerns over the outlook for first quarter U.K. growth.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.25% to 120.50 and with USD/CHF up 0.32% to 0.9823.
The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were broadly weaker, with AUD/USD tumbling 1.27% to 0.7584 and NZD/USD losing 1.33% to 0.7440, while USD/CAD gained 0.45% to trade at 1.2621.
The export-related currencies came under pressure after data earlier showed that China's trade surplus narrowed to $3.08 billion in March from $60.60 billion the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to $45.35 billion last month.
China is Australia's biggest export partner and New Zealand's second biggest export partner.