Investing.com - The U.S. dollar pushed higher against a basket of the other major currencies on Monday as some of the market volatility of last week eased and data showed that Japan’s second quarter growth beat forecasts.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade- weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.22% to 93.18 by 04:00 a.m. ET (08:00 a.m. GMT).
The dollar had come under pressure on Friday as weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data tempered expectations for a third interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year.
Risk appetite improved as tensions over North Korea eased. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called for a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue, and urged all sides to avoid words or action that raise tensions.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.49% to 109.7.
In Japan, data on Monday showed that the country’s economy grew by 1.0% in the second quarter or 4.0% in annualized terms, which was higher than the 2.5% expected.
Elsewhere Chinese retail sales and industrial production rose by 10.4% and 6.4% respectively in July, but this was slightly below forecasts.
The dollar was also higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF advancing 0.41% to 0.9656.
The yen and the Swiss franc posted large gains against the dollar last week, rising 1.47% and 1.14% respectively as heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea sparked a flight to safety.
The currencies are often sought in times of geopolitical tension or market turbulence because both countries have large current account surpluses.
The euro was a touch lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD dipping 0.1% to 1.1809 ahead of a report on euro zone industrial production later in the day.
Sterling was little changed against the greenback, with GBP/USD at 1.3002.