Investing.com - The dollar extended losses against a currency basket on Monday on expectations that U.S.-led missile strike on Syria would not lead to a broader conflict and after U.S. President Donald Trump accused China and Russia of currency devaluation.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.40% to 89.15 by 09:43 AM ET (13:43 GMT).
Market sentiment was buoyed by relief that the missile strikes on Syria did not prompt a response from Russia, Syria’s main ally.
Investors remained cautious as the U.S. prepared to announce a fresh round of economic sanctions on Russia related to its involvement in Syria’s use of chemical weapons.
The military strikes were made in response to a suspected chemical-weapon attack on civilians in Damascus and were the largest intervention yet by Western countries against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The dollar was also pressured after President Trump accused Russia and China of devaluing their currencies while the U.S. raises interest rates in a Twitter post.
“Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the U.S. keeps raising interest rates. Not acceptable!” Trump said.
The dollar shrugged off data showing that U.S. retail sales rebounded 0.6% in March, snapping three months of declines.
The dollar was slightly lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.61% to 107.22.
The euro rose to the days higher against the softer dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.45% to 1.2384.
The pound climbed above the $1.43 level for the first time since January amid expectations for a rate hike by the Bank of England as soon as next month.
GBP/USD was last up 0.58% at 1.4321.
Investors were looking ahead to the latest UK jobs report on Tuesday, followed by inflation on Wednesday and retail sales on Thursday which could help determine the direction of monetary policy.