The US dollar is climbing
The US dollar index was up by 0.5% at 93.50 at 8:54 a.m. ET.
"The US dollar is broadly higher as the quarter-end positioning losses seen at the end of last week area reversed," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, in commentary.
He added that "the Catalonia-Madrid conflict, and slightly softer EMU manufacturing PMI weighs on the euro."
The dollar index had a relatively strong September after months of declines, adding 0.87%.
It climbed to its highest level in over a month last week after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments in Cleveland on Tuesday. Yellen suggested, "It would be imprudent to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation is back to 2%."
As for the rest of the world, here was the scoreboard at 8:59 a.m. ET:
- The euro was lower by 0.5% at 1.1761 against the dollar after Catalonia's referendum saw nearly 90% of votes cast in favor of independence from Spain. Additionally, German manufacturing PMI came in at 60.6 in September, in line with expectations.
- The British pound was down by 0.9% at 1.3278 against the dollar. British manufacturing PMI came in less than expected at 55.9, below expectations of 56.4.
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 112.59 per dollar.
- The Indian rupee was down by 0.3% at 65.490 per dollar.
- The Russian ruble was weaker by 0.7% at 57.8744 per dollar