U.S. Dollar Index Fell 0.2% to 92.498

The U.S. dollar declined on Monday morning in Asia, remaining near a one-week low. The U.S. currency slumped the most in almost seven weeks on Friday, after a sharp decline in U.S. consumer confidence reduced the chance of a tighter U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy.

The U.S. dollar index that tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of other currencies dropped 0.2% to 92.498 by 10:45 PM ET (2:45 AM GMT).

The USD/JPY pair fell 0.19% to 109.36.

The AUD/USD pair declined 0.22% to 0.7352, with the central bank due to release the minutes from its latest meeting on Tuesday. The New Zealand dollar also fell against the greenback. The NZD/USD pair declined 0.2%  to 0.7036, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand handing down its policy decision in two days.

The USD/CNY pair gained 0.01% to 6.4773. The world’s second-largest economy continues to grow. Nonetheless, it failed to meet expectations. The country’s industrial production rose a lower-than-expected 6.4% year-on-year in July, while retail sales also disappointed. In July, retail sales grew 8.5% year-on-year.

The GBP/USD pair rose 0.02% to 1.3866.

Dollar and Investors

Investors analyzed U.S. economic data from the previous week. A key consumer sentiment reading saw a dramatic decline in early August as the highly contagious Delta variant raised concerns about the economy’s path. Unfortunately, the consumer sentiment index fell to 70.2 in its preliminary August reading. In July, the consumer sentiment index reached 81.2%. Furthermore, it was the worst result since 2011. A sudden decline of that magnitude is extremely rare for the index.

The worst result since 2011 comes as the delta variant of Covid-19 spread rapidly across the country. Hospitals in many states are struggling to deal with a huge number of patients.

The consumer sentiment index represents just one preliminary data point. Further U.S. data, including core retail sales and retail sales, will be released on Tuesday.

Investors are also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s next move on asset tapering and interest rate hikes. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at a virtual town hall meeting with educators and students. Also, this month, the Federal Reserve will hold its annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. All factors mentioned above can affect the U.S. dollar.