WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After trading weak right through Asian and European sessions, the U.S. dollar climbed higher an hour into the U.S. session on Monday, but struggled to make a significant move up north, as investors looked ahead to some crucial economic data.
Still, the greenback hit a fresh 38-year high against the Yen after data showed a bigger than expected contraction of the Japanese economy in the first-quarter.
Investors looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The report, which is expected to show a slowdown in the pace of job growth in the month of June, could impact the outlook for interest rates.
In economic releases today, the Institute for Supply Management's report showed manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in the month of June.
The ISM said its manufacturing PMI edged down to 48.5 in June from 48.7 in May, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 49.1.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department unexpectedly showed a slight decrease in U.S. construction spending in the month of May.
The Commerce Department said construction spending edged down by 0.1% to an annual rate of $2.140 trillion in May after rising by 0.3% to a revised rate of $2.142 billion in April.
Economists had expected construction spending to inch up by 0.1% compared to the 0.1% dip originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar index, which was down at 105.43 in the Asian session, climbed to 105.98 before easing to 105.82, netting a marginal loss.
Against the Euro, the dollar ended little changed at 1.0741. The dollar settled flat against Pound Sterling at 1.2650.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar firmed to 161.45 a U.S. dollar. The dollar gained marginally against the Aussie at 0.6661.
The Swiss franc weakened to 0.9027 a dollar, while the Loonie weakened to 1.3738 a unit of U.S. dollar.
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