(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar gained against its major counterparts on Monday, as data showed a bigger than expected increase in the nation's retail sales in the month of March.
Data from the Commerce Department showed U.S. retail sales climbed by 0.7% in March after advancing by an upwardly revised 0.9% in February. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3% compared to the 0.6% increase originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar index, which was down at 105.84 in the European session, climbed to 106.25 later on, gaining about 0.2%.
Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0623 after having weakened to 1.0667 earlier in the day. The dollar strengthened to 1.2444 against Pound Sterling.
The dollar firmed against the Japanese currency, fetching 154.27 yen a unit. Against the Aussie, the dollar was up at 0.6441, gaining more than 0.5%.
The dollar eased against the Swiss franc to CHF 0.9118 from CHF 0.9142. Against the Loonie, the dollar gained marginally at C$ 1.3789.
