The dollar rose against major currencies on Monday as fears about Hurricane Sandy produced a mild bout of safe haven buying.

Normal US floor trading was closed on Monday and is not expected to re-open until Wednesday, weather permitting. However electronic trading continued as normal on Monday.

The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six others, rose to 80.26 from 80.046 in late US trading on Friday.

Currency trading is expected to be thinner than usual over the next few days as Hurricane Sandy hits the US East Coast.

The euro bought $1.2904 compared to $1.2941 on Friday as risk appetite was hit by persistent uncertainty over when Spain might request aid and whether Greece will agree to a deal on austerity.

The single currency was also down against the yen on Monday. The euro fell 0.4% to ¥102.65. Against the yen, the dollar changed hands at ¥79.83 from ¥79.64 the previous session. Focus remained on the Bank of Japan, which is expected to further ease monetary policy this week.

Sterling traded at $1.6028 from $1.6104 as jitters about Greece and Spain reduced demand for riskier currencies. The UK currency had been boosted by better-than-expected UK data in the previous session.



CJ

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