US dollar rises amid trade concerns

New York  :  The US dollar index increased against most other major currencies, as investors assessed the latest developments of trade relations between China and the US.

In late New York trading on Monday, the euro decreased to $1.2301 from $1.2324 in the previous session, and the British pound was up to $1.4041 from $1.4035 in the previous session, Xinhua reported. 

The Australian dollar fell to $0.7653 from $0.7686.

The US dollar bought 105.84 Japanese yen, lower than 106.24 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar increased to 0.9546 Swiss franc from 0.9541 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.2939 Canadian dollars from 1.2893 Canadian dollars. 

China suspended tariff concessions on 128 items of US products including pork and fruits starting Monday, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided to impose a tariff of 15 per cent on 120 items of products imported from the United States including fruits and related products, and a tariff of 25 per cent on eight items of imports including pork and related products from the country, according to a statement posted on the ministry website.

The statement said it was a countermeasure in response to a previous US move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Despite worldwide objections, the US administration decided to impose a 25-per cent tariff on steel imports and a 10-per cent tariff on aluminium, with tariffs on imports from countries including China.

On the economic front, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) decreased 1.5 percentage points from the February reading of 60.8 per cent to 59.3 per cent in March, missing market estimates, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported on Monday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.08 per cent at 90.046 in late trading.