2021.07.1220:26:00UTC+00Dollar Posts Modest Gains Against Major Rivals

The U.S. dollar gained against most of its major rivals on Monday, as traders looked ahead to the inflation data and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony for clues about when the central bank might start tapering its asset purchases.

Powell is scheduled to give his semi-annual Congressional testimony on Wednesday.

Traders also kept an eye on news about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus in several parts of the world. Finance ministers from the Group of 20 countries warned over the weekend that the global economic growth is at risk from the spike of new coronavirus variants and the low vaccine availability in developing countries.

On the data front, reports on consumer price inflation, producer prices, retail sales and industrial production are due this week, in addition to weekly jobless claims.

The dollar index, which climbed to 92.42 in the European session, dropped to 92.16 a little before noon but recovered to 92.21 subsequently, gaining about 0.12%.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to $1.836 in the European session, but pared some gains later on and was up 0.13% at $1.1863 a little while ago.

The Pound Sterling weakened to $1.3882, easing from $1.3904.

The Yen dropped to 110.35 a dollar, losing about 0.21%.

Against the Aussie, the dollar strengthened to 0.7480, gaining from 0.7488.

The Swiss franc was down slightly at 0.9152 a dollar, easing from 0.9147, while the Loonie weakened to 1.2457 a dollar from 1.2447. The Bank of Canada is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday.