Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, after the release of positive U.S. economic reports and as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday continued to support.
In a report, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 3.1% last month, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.4% gain. Pending home sales rose by 1.2% in January, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported gain of 1.7%.
The data came after the U.S. Commerce Department said that personal spending inched up 0.1% last month, below expectations for a gain of 0.2%. Personal spending dropped 0.2% in January.
The report also showed personal income rose 0.4% in February, above forecasts for a 0.3% increase and after gaining 0.4% in January.
On Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech on Friday that a rate hike may be warranted later this year, but added that weakening inflation pressures could force the Fed to delay.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.55% to 98.16.
EUR/USD dropped 0.39% to 1.0846.
The euro shrugged off official data showing that German consumer price inflation accelerated at an annualized rate of 0.3% this month, meeting forecasts and compared to a reading of 0.1% in February.
Another report showed that consumer prices in Spain fell 0.7% this month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.0%, after a 1.1% decline in February.
Meanwhile, Greece remained in focus after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government put forward new reform plans for approval late Friday, as part of a bailout extension review.
Officials from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank were to examine the measures after earlier proposals were not accepted.
The pound was also lower, with GBP/USD down 0.54% to 1.4812.
In the U.K., the Bank of England said on Monday that total net lending to individuals increased by ₤2.5 billion last month, up from ₤2.4 billion in January, while mortgage approvals rose to a six-month high last month.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.63% to 119.90 and with USD/CHF adding 0.23% to 0.9646.
The KOF Economic Research Agency earlier reported that its index of 219 economic indicators for Switzerland inched up to 90.8 this month from a reading of 90.3 in February.
Also Monday, preliminary data showed that Japan's industrial production dropped 3.4% in February, exceeding expectations for a 1.8% fall, after a 3.7% increase the previous month.
The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were broadly weaker, with AUD/USD tumbling 1.27% to 0.7657 and NZD/USD retreating 0.44% to 0.7531, while USD/CAD gained 0.47% to 1.2667.