News: FOREX-U.S. dollar, yen gain after weak China data, amid unrest in Afghanistan

• Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

(Adds comment, FX table, updates prices, writes through)

The dollar rose on Monday against commodity currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars, while the safe-haven yen gained as disappointing economic data from China, political tension in Afghanistan, and the spreading Delta virus weighed on risk appetite.

The dollar's gains came after recent losses following a slump in consumer sentiment on Friday weakened the U.S. unit.

Against a basket of six major currencies =USD , the greenback was little changed to slightly higher at 92.593, after falling to a one-week low of 92.468 on Friday. Its gains were most pronounced against commodity currencies.

The Aussie dollar was down 0.7% at US$0.7323 AUD=D3 , while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.3% to US$0.7040 NZD=D3 ahead of a Reserve Bank of New Zealand's policy meeting on Wednesday, at which economists widely expect the first hike in the benchmark interest rate since 2014.

The greenback, meanwhile, rose 0.4% against the Canadian dollar to C$1.2565 CAD=D3 . "The spreading virus, the disappointing Chinese data, and the news that the Taliban have captured Kabul has dampened risk appetite," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex.

But currencies stuck to broad trading ranges as investors were wary of taking large bets at the start of a busy week for central banks.

China's July retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment were all weaker than expected as the latest COVID-19 outbreak weighed on the world's second-biggest economy.

Long positions on the greenback swelled to their biggest levels since March 2020, suggesting the dollar's recent move lower was more a temporary setback than the beginning of a structural downtrend.

The release of the Fed minutes this week will be key to the short-term outlook for the greenback, especially if it confirms more policymakers are leaning towards tapering its bond purchase plan by the end of the year.

MUFG strategists noted there had been a clear pattern for the U.S. dollar to strengthen modestly after the release of Fed minutes, but there is the risk of a bigger market reaction when Fed's policy is moving closer to a pivot point.

"It poses the main event risk of disrupting the quiet period of trading we have seen over the summer," they said.

Political unrest in Afghanistan in which Taliban insurgents took over Kabul over the weekend also undermined market sentiment.

Currency market volatility .DBCVIX , even by its already low levels, is nearing 2021 lows thanks to the summer lull.

Elsewhere, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest meeting are due on Tuesday. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin BTC=BTSP edged higher to around $47,162, approaching the three-month high of $48,190 marked over the weekend.

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	Currency bid prices at 9:53AM (1353 GMT) 

 Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	   High Bid	Low Bid 
											  Previous				   Change					
											  Session											  
 Dollar index	  =USD	   92.5890		92.5350	 +0.07%		 2.898%		+92.6630	+92.4800 
 Euro/Dollar	   EUR=EBS	$1.1777		$1.1794	 -0.14%		 -3.61%		+$1.1801	+$1.1767 
 Dollar/Yen		JPY=EBS	109.1500	   109.6100	-0.42%		 +5.63%		+109.7500   +109.1150 
 Euro/Yen		  EURJPY=	128.53		 129.31	  -0.60%		 +1.27%		+129.4800   +128.5300 
 Dollar/Swiss	  CHF=EBS	0.9120		 0.9154	  -0.38%		 +3.08%		+0.9163	 +0.9114 
 Sterling/Dollar   GBP=D3	 $1.3842		$1.3868	 -0.19%		 +1.32%		+$1.3878	+$1.3839 
 Dollar/Canadian   CAD=D3	 1.2568		 1.2519	  +0.40%		 -1.30%		+1.2571	 +1.2512 
 Aussie/Dollar	 AUD=D3	 $0.7322		$0.7377	 -0.74%		 -4.82%		+$0.7373	+$0.7322 
 Euro/Swiss		EURCHF=	1.0738		 1.0796	  -0.54%		 -0.64%		+1.0805	 +1.0737 
 Euro/Sterling	 EURGBP=	0.8506		 0.8501	  +0.06%		 -4.82%		+0.8515	 +0.8485 
 NZ				NZD=D3	 $0.7016		$0.7040	 -0.32%		 -2.28%		+$0.7043	+$0.7017 
 Dollar/Dollar																					 

 Dollar/Norway	 NOK=D3	 8.8430		 8.7980	  +0.42%		 +2.89%		+8.8455	 +8.8185 
 Euro/Norway	   EURNOK=	10.4150		10.3840	 +0.30%		 -0.50%		+10.4219	+10.3616 
 Dollar/Sweden	 SEK=	   8.6578		 8.6487	  +0.04%		 +5.63%		+8.6683	 +8.6281 
 Euro/Sweden	   EURSEK=	10.1983		10.1938	 +0.04%		 +1.21%		+10.2113	+10.1826 
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World FX rates	https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E 

dollar positions https://tmsnrt.rs/3AMB3he

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