Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was higher on Monday, as trade optimism helped offset weak economic data.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.33% to 97.96 as of 10:55 AM ET (14:55 GMT).
Speaking at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had received two phone calls from Chinese officials over the weekend urging new trade talks. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of any phone calls between the two nations, but Vice Premier Liu He said he wanted to solve their trade differences as calmly as possible.
Tensions escalated on Friday after both the U.S. and China announced new tariff measures and Trump appeared to threaten to use emergency powers to force U.S. companies to stop making goods in China.
Meanwhile, new orders for U.S. capital goods rose slightly in July as shipments fell by the most in nearly three years as economic growth slowed.
The Japanese yen, which is seen as a safe haven in times of market turmoil, fell with USD/JPY rising 0.6% to 105.96.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was down 0.2% to 1.1117, as speculation remained that the European Central Bank will have to aggressively ease its monetary policy next month after the German business climate index came in slower than expected.
GBP/USD declined 0.5% to 1.2214.