News: FOREX-Dollar index hovers at 23-month peak

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    • Major currencies bounce within tight ranges
    • Investors await Fed meeting, U.S. payrolls data
    • Japan closed all week, China to close Wednesday-Friday
    • Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

    (Updates market action, changes dateline, previous LONDON)

    The dollar was marginally higher against a basket of currencies on Monday, hovering near a 23-month high, as traders await more data to convince them whether to add to their bullish positions in the greenback.

    Most major currencies held in tight ranges on light trading volume as Japan began its extended Golden Week holiday. China will observe its Labor Day holiday from Wednesday to Friday.

    A Federal Reserve policy meeting, Brexit negotiations and a raft of global data including U.S. payrolls could each be the trigger for big currency swings this week.

    "You have a lot of economic data later this week from around the world. People are waiting to see if there is a lot of major shifts," said Chuck Tomes, associate portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management in Boston.

    A swathe of manufacturing surveys from Europe and China are due later this week, along with a first reading on EU GDP. The U.S. payrolls report on Friday is forecast to show a solid increase of 185,000 jobs in April, with unemployment at 3.8%.

    At 10:36 a.m. (1436 GMT), an index that tracks the greenback against the euro, yen, sterling and three other currencies .DXY was up 0.04% at 98.05. Last week, it reached 98.330, the highest since May 2017.

    The euro EUR=EBS was 0.08% higher at $1.1157, while the dollar was up 0.31% at 111.85 yen JPY=EBS .

    The dollar index failed to move higher after data that showed U.S. consumer spending gaining 0.9% in March, marking its biggest monthly increase in more than 9-1/2 years.

    The core personal consumption expenditure price index, on the other hand, did not change in March, leaving its year-over-year increase at 1.6%, the smallest rise in 14 months.

    Traders await clues on the Fed's global economic outlook as the central bank's policymaking board meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

    Analysts do not anticipate any major changes from Fed officials who signaled last month they would not raise interest rates in 2019 .

    Since the Fed's March meeting, U.S. economic data has shown the expansion has remained intact despite some slowing since late 2018. Last Friday, the government said first-quarter gross domestic product grew at a 3.2% pace, but the figure was bolstered largely by a surge in inventories and exports.

    Speculators raised their long dollar positions to $37.21 billion last week, the highest level since December 2015, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released late Friday.

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    	Currency bid prices at 10:36AM (1436 GMT) 
    
     Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
    											  Previous				   Change				  
    											  Session											
     Euro/Dollar	  EUR=		$1.1155		$1.1148	 +0.06%		 -2.74%	  +1.1167	 +1.1142 
     Dollar/Yen	   JPY=		111.8400	   111.5800	+0.23%		 +1.43%	  +111.8900   +111.5400 
     Euro/Yen		 EURJPY=	 124.84		 124.43	  +0.33%		 -1.09%	  +124.8500   +124.4300 
     Dollar/Swiss	 CHF=		1.0206		 1.0195	  +0.11%		 +3.99%	  +1.0215	 +1.0186 
     Sterling/Dollar  GBP=		1.2907		 1.2917	  -0.08%		 +1.18%	  +1.2946	 +1.2906 
     Dollar/Canadian  CAD=		1.3468		 1.3453	  +0.11%		 -1.24%	  +1.3479	 +1.3451 
     Australian/Doll  AUD=		0.7045		 0.7039	  +0.09%		 -0.06%	  +0.7060	 +0.7032 
     ar																							  
    
     Euro/Swiss	   EURCHF=	 1.1387		 1.1363	  +0.21%		 +1.18%	  +1.1393	 +1.1362 
     Euro/Sterling	EURGBP=	 0.8643		 0.8631	  +0.14%		 -3.80%	  +0.8643	 +0.8621 
     NZ			   NZD=		0.6661		 0.6659	  +0.03%		 -0.83%	  +0.6680	 +0.6655 
     Dollar/Dollar																				   
    
     Dollar/Norway	NOK=		8.6845		 8.6795	  +0.06%		 +0.53%	  +8.6966	 +8.6683 
     Euro/Norway	  EURNOK=	 9.6898		 9.6843	  +0.06%		 -2.18%	  +9.6982	 +9.6764 
     Dollar/Sweden	SEK=		9.5202		 9.5122	  +0.12%		 +6.20%	  +9.5279	 +9.4961 
     Euro/Sweden	  EURSEK=	 10.6225		10.6100	 +0.12%		 +3.49%	  +10.6275	+10.5996 
    	<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
    Net Euro short positions	http//tmsnrt.rs/2GUfBy1 
    
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