U.S. Dollar Surges on Trade Deal Hope

Investing.com - The greenback reached a fresh 2019 high on Monday as hopes for U.S.-China trade meetings boosted investor sentiment.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was at 96.847 as of 11:02 AM ET (16:02 GMT).

The meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials set for this week increased hope that a deal will be reached before the March 1 deadline when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are due to increase from 10% to 25%.

Chinese officials issued upbeat statements at the weekend, but U.S. President Donald Trump's comments last week that he probably wouldn't meet with counterpart Xi Jinping ahead of the March deadline are still setting the tone.

The dollar was up against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY jumping 0.62% to 110.38. The yen is typically sought by investors as a safe haven during times of economic or market stress.

Elsewhere, the pound continued to fall amid Brexit pressure. U.K. government spokesman James Slack said there will be no meaningful vote on the deal this week. Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to address parliament on Tuesday. GBP/USD slumped 0.6% to 1.2862.

Elsewhere the euro was lower due to the stronger dollar. EUR/USD slipped 0.47% to 1.1276.

In Australia, the AUD/USD fell 0.3% to 0.7063 while NZD/USD dipped 0.14% to 0.6733. The loonie was lower, with USD/CAD up 0.25% to 1.3307.

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