Investing.com - The dollar remained at eight-month highs against the other majors currencies in light trade on Monday, as expectations for a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year continued to boost demand for the greenback.
The dollar remained broadly supported after New York Fed President William Dudley said last week that the U.S. central bank will likely raise interest rates later this year if the economy remains on its current trajectory.
On Friday, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said that "this year would be good" for a rate rise that he had wanted to take effect last month.
Growing expectations that Hillary Clinton will win the U.S. presidential election have also added to the view that a December rate hike is likely.
EUR/USD was steady at 1.0883, close to Friday’s seven-month trough of 1.0857.
Research group Markit said on Monday that its euro zone composite purchasing managers’ index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors, increased to a 10-month high of 53.7 October, from the prior month’s reading of 52.6.
Analysts had expected the index to rise to 52.8 this month.
Earlier Monday, Markit said its German manufacturing PMI rose to 55.1 in October from 54.3 the previous month, beating expectations for an unchanged reading. The German services PMI climbed to 54.1 this month from 50.9.
Markit also said its French manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 in October from 49.7 the previous month, exceeding expectations for a reading of 50.0. However, the French services PMI slipped to 52.1 this month from 53.3.
But the single currency remained under pressure since European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated last week that the bank may extend its stimulus program in December.
Eslewhere, GBP/USD fell 0.20% to 1.2207.
USD/JPY gained 0.43% to 104.24, while USD/CHF was little changed at 0.9930.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7607, while NZD/USD declined 0.43% to 0.7130.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.15% to 1.3355, just below the seven-month peak of 1.3358 reached earlier in the day.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.09% at 98.71, just off an eight-month peak of 98.82 hit overnight.