The dollar edged higher against the yen in thin holiday trade, with financial markets in Australia and New Zealand closed for the day.
Year-end dollar demand from Japanese firms lifted the pair to a high of 91.79 yen at one point, just shy of a two-month peak of 91.88 hit last week. The greenback was last quoted up 0.4 percent at 91.55 yen on Monday afternoon.
Latest data showed that Japan's November industrial output rose a forecast-beating 2.6 percent, its strongest gain in six months, thanks to growing demand for exports.
The dollar index held steady at 77.6, off a 3-1/2-month high of 78.44 set last week.
Euro-dollar drifted near the $1.44 level while the sterling was little changed at $1.595.
Traders are focused on whether the dollar's recent uptrend will continue into next month after the usual year-end dollar buying wanes.
Crude oil futures advanced 0.5 percent to $78.49 a barrel, supported by large declines in U.S. crude inventories and signs of economic recovery in the U.S.
Gold prices also rose in a fairly quiet session, up 0.5 percent to $1,110 an ounce.
Markets will be looking to this week's $118 billion worth of Treasury auctions and U.S. economic numbers for direction. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for October and U-S consumer confidence data for December are due out Tuesday.
