Investing.com - The dollar remained modestly higher against a basket of major currencies on Monday, shrugging off a weak reading of U.S. manufacturing activity as concerns over the recent devaluation of the yuan eased.
The greenback showed little reaction after a report showing that manufacturing activity in the New York region slumped to its lowest level since November 2009 this month as new orders fell sharply.
This was offset by another report showing that US house builder sentiment rose to its highest level in nearly a decade this month.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was last at 96.88, up 0.28% for the day.
The greenback remained supported as investors looked ahead to Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, which it was hoped would provide more clarity on its plans to hike short-term interest rates for the first time since 2006.
Overall market sentiment was boosted as concerns over a prolonged depreciation of the yuan eased after China's central bank on Monday set the midpoint rate slightly firmer than at Friday’s close.
The euro moved lower, with EUR/USD down 0.33% to 1.1074.
USD/JPY was last at 124.36, not far from the day’s high of 124.58.
Earlier Monday the yen shrugged off weak Japanese data on second quarter growth which sparked expectations for additional easing by the Bank of Japan.
The dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc.
The greenback also gained ground against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD hitting highs of 1.3153.
The loonie remained under pressure amid declines in oil prices which fell to more than six-year lows on Monday amid ongoing concerns about the global supply glut and the demand outlook.
The Australian dollar was steady at 0.7369.
The Aussie fell to six-year lows of 0.7214 last week after the yuan depreciation before recovering after China's central bank said there was no basis for further depreciation in the currency, given China's strong economic fundamentals.
The New Zealand dollar pushed higher, with NZD/USD rising 0.56% to 0.6572.