Investing.com - The dollar gained against most major currencies on Monday as investors flocked to the safety of the greenback to await policy announcements at an E.U. summit later this week.
Investors also sought safe harbor in the dollar ahead of third-quarter earnings due out in the U.S. later this week as well.
In U.S. trading on Monday, EUR/USD was down 0.34% at 1.2910.
European Union policymakers will hold an Oct. 18-19 summit in Brussels to discuss Greece's steps towards fiscal health as well as ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis.
Greece has requested a two-year extension to meet deficit targets.
Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding Spain's plans to request a bailout or not made the dollar even more attractive.
Last week, Standard & Poor's said it lowered Spain's long-term credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and cut its short-term credit rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2'.
The ratings agency said Spain's deepening economic recession is limiting the Spanish government's policy options and added that rising unemployment and spending constraints are likely to fuel social discontent and contribute to friction between Spain's central and regional governments.
"In our view, the capacity of Spain's political institutions (both domestic and multilateral) to deal with the severe challenges posed by the current economic and financial crisis is declining," Standard & Poor's said in a statement.
The news prompted many investors to interpret the downgrade as a tipping point pushing Madrid closer to requesting financial aid from its neighbors.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt in the secondary market, which would lower borrowing costs in the crisis-weary country, yet Madrid has yet to seek such assistance, which continued to bolster the dollar on Monday.
Investors also stocked up on dollar positions on Monday as part of a wait-and-see trading session ahead of a flurry of data due out of the U.S. this week, including reports on retail sales, manufacturing activity, initial jobless claims and housing starts, among others.
Earnings season is under way in the U.S. as well, and investors stayed in safe-haven dollar positions ahead of time.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD trading down 0.17% at 1.6047.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.04% at 78.41 and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.31% at 0.9360.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD trading up 0.05% at 0.9803, AUD/USD down 0.11% at 1.0222 and NZD/USD trading down 0.21% at 0.8148.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% at 79.94.
On Monday, the U.S. is to produce official data on retail sales, an indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of economic activity.
In addition, the U.S. is to release data on manufacturing activity in New York state, as well as official data on business inventories.
Investors also sought safe harbor in the dollar ahead of third-quarter earnings due out in the U.S. later this week as well.
In U.S. trading on Monday, EUR/USD was down 0.34% at 1.2910.
European Union policymakers will hold an Oct. 18-19 summit in Brussels to discuss Greece's steps towards fiscal health as well as ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis.
Greece has requested a two-year extension to meet deficit targets.
Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding Spain's plans to request a bailout or not made the dollar even more attractive.
Last week, Standard & Poor's said it lowered Spain's long-term credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and cut its short-term credit rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2'.
The ratings agency said Spain's deepening economic recession is limiting the Spanish government's policy options and added that rising unemployment and spending constraints are likely to fuel social discontent and contribute to friction between Spain's central and regional governments.
"In our view, the capacity of Spain's political institutions (both domestic and multilateral) to deal with the severe challenges posed by the current economic and financial crisis is declining," Standard & Poor's said in a statement.
The news prompted many investors to interpret the downgrade as a tipping point pushing Madrid closer to requesting financial aid from its neighbors.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt in the secondary market, which would lower borrowing costs in the crisis-weary country, yet Madrid has yet to seek such assistance, which continued to bolster the dollar on Monday.
Investors also stocked up on dollar positions on Monday as part of a wait-and-see trading session ahead of a flurry of data due out of the U.S. this week, including reports on retail sales, manufacturing activity, initial jobless claims and housing starts, among others.
Earnings season is under way in the U.S. as well, and investors stayed in safe-haven dollar positions ahead of time.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD trading down 0.17% at 1.6047.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.04% at 78.41 and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.31% at 0.9360.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD trading up 0.05% at 0.9803, AUD/USD down 0.11% at 1.0222 and NZD/USD trading down 0.21% at 0.8148.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22% at 79.94.
On Monday, the U.S. is to produce official data on retail sales, an indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of economic activity.
In addition, the U.S. is to release data on manufacturing activity in New York state, as well as official data on business inventories.