The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies. The greenback recovered Friday's losses. The U.S. currency declined on Friday as investors speculated that the Fed might delay its first interest rate hike due to the weak wage growth. Average hourly earnings decreased 0.2% in December.
The U.S. Labor Department released the labour market data on Friday. The U.S. economy added 252,000 jobs in December. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.6% in December from 5.8% in November, exceeding expectations for a decline to 5.7%.
The euro traded higher against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the Eurozone. Political uncertainty in Greece and inflation data from the Eurozone still weighed on the euro.
Investors speculate that the European Central Bank could decide on its policy meeting on January 22 to purchase government bonds.
The British pound traded mixed against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the U.K.
The Canadian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar after the release of the Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey. The survey showed that business sentiment in Canada has remained positive, but falling oil prices have a negative impact on the outlook for companies tied to the energy sector.
The New Zealand dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from New Zealand.
The Australian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the Aussie traded higher against the greenback after the mixed economic data from Australia. Job advertisements in Australia increased 1.8% in December, after a 0.7% rise in November. That was the seventh consecutive increase.
Home loans in Australia fell 0.7% in November, missing expectations for a 1.8% rise, after a 0.2% increase in October. October's figure was revised down from a 0.3% gain. That are signs of a weakening in the housing sector.
The Japanese yen traded higher against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the yen traded mixed against the greenback. Markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday.
Japan's government released its growth forecasts for the next fiscal year on Monday. The economy is expected to expand 1.5% in the fiscal year through March 2016, up from an earlier forecast of 1.4%. But the government lowered its growth forecast for the current fiscal year to a -0.5%, down from the previous forecast of 1.2%.