Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Monday, on the first trading day of 2011 as demand for dollars to cover short positions left over from last year helped the support the U.S. currency.
During European morning trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.60% to hit 1.3306.
Earlier Monday, data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone increased more than initially forecast in December, rising to an 8-month high as growth remained strong in Germany and France.
The greenback was also up against the pound with GBP/USD tumbling 0.93% to hit 1.5463.
Elsewhere, the greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY climbing 0.32% to hit 81.41 and USD/CHF easing up 0.11% to hit 0.9356.
Also Monday, industry data showed that manufacturing activity in Switzerland declined unexpectedly in December.
Meanwhile, the greenback was down against its Canadian counterpart but higher against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD shedding 0.48% to hit 0.9932, AUD/USD slipping 0.20% to hit 1.0211 and NZD/USD dropping 0.26% to hit 0.7779.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.21%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish key ISM manufacturing data.
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