Nick Twidale, chief operating officer of Rakuten Securities, said: "The U.S. -China talks are the focus of this week, and the strength of the U.S. dollar shows that market sentiment is cautious because of its hedging position."
"At present, the Australian dollar and the euro are at a weak level, and further decline in risk sentiment may lead to further decline in these currencies."
U.S. negotiators will press China this week to reform the way it treats intellectual property rights of U.S. companies in order to reach a trade agreement to prevent rising import tariffs from China. The dollar rose 0.1% to 109.82 against the yen. However, traders expect the dollar/yen trend to weaken on Monday as the Japanese market closes for public holidays.
The dollar index, which measures its value against the six major currencies, was slightly higher than 96.64, rising for the eighth consecutive trading day.
Trade tensions between the world's two major economies have been a major driver of global investor sentiment over the past year. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not intend to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the deadline for a trade agreement between the two countries on March 1. Market confidence was undermined.
If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by March 2, Trump has vowed to increase US tariffs on $200 billion of imports from China from 10% to 25%.
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