Forex - Dollar gains on firming U.S. retail sales, soft Chinese data

The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies on Monday after U.S. retail sales beat expectations, just days after official data revealed that far fewer individuals filed for unemployment assistance than expected.

In U.S. trading on Monday, EUR/USD was down 0.13% at 1.2974.

The Commerce Department reported earlier that U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in April, defying expectations for a 0.3% decline. March's figure was revised down to a 0.5% contraction from a 0.4% contraction.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.1% last month, in line with expectations.

The numbers sparked talk that the Federal Reserve may be closer to scaling back stimulus programs, especially its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weaken the dollar to spur recovery.

Lingering optimism from stronger-than-expected monthly hiring data and weekly jobless claims reports bolstered the greenback as well.

Meanwhile in China, industrial production in the Asian giant rose 9.3% in April, below expectations for a 9.5% increase and following an 8.9% rise the previous month, which bolstered the greenback's safe-haven appeal.

The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USDtrading down 0.53% at 1.5284.

The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.33% at 101.95, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.10% at 0.9582.

The yen touched earlier lows not seen since October 2008 after economic policymakers from the Group of Seven industrialized economies refrained from criticizing Japan over policies that have resulted in a weaker yen.

The Bank of Japan has rolled out massive stimulus polices in recent months to steer the country away from deflationary decline, which have weakened the yen.

Wealthy G7 nations concluded at a U.K. summit over the weekend that such policies are designed to spur growth in Japan and are not out to give the Asian economy unfair advantages in global trade arenas.

The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.01% at 1.0106, AUD/USD down 0.73% at 0.9948 and NZD/USD trading down 0.72% at 0.8244.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.21% at 83.36. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. is to publish official data on import prices.