Investing.com - The euro pushed higher against the U.S. dollar and the yen on Monday, amid hopes that Greece will repay the International Monetary Fund on time.
Athens is on the hook for a roughly €450 million loan repayment to the IMF due this Thursday.
EUR/USD was up 0.1% to 1.0982 during European morning hours, extending strong gains from the previous session. Meanwhile, EUR/JPY tacked on 0.1% to 130.71.
Trading activity is expected to remain light on Monday, with markets in Europe, the U.K., China and Australia all closed for holidays.
Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar stabilized against its major rivals on Monday, after coming under pressure on Friday following the release of disappointing U.S. employment data.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.02% to 96.86.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 126,000 new jobs in March, the smallest increase since December 2013. Economists had forecast jobs growth of 245,000 last month.
The surprisingly weak report added to concerns over the outlook for economic growth after other recent economic data pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
A slowing labor market could prompt the Federal Reserve to reconsider a planned increase in interest rates. Last month the Fed indicated that the first rate increase could come as soon as June, but added that continued improvement in labor markets would be a key factor it would consider.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management is to release data on service sector activity as investors look for further indications on the strength of the economy and the future path of monetary policy.