• The dollar hit an eight-week high against the yen on Monday, supported by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields, as traders eyed a Federal Reserve meeting starting the next day for clues on whether interest rates could rise again by year-end.
The greenback recorded its best week against the Japanese currency since November last week, gaining 2.8 percent, as a rise in U.S. yields bolstered its appeal and as data showing a pick up in U.S. consumer prices helped rekindle expectations that the Fed could hike rates again in December.
The euro edged down 0.1 percent to $1.1924, staying below a 2-1/2 year high of $1.2092 set earlier this month.
• A European Union plan to raise more tax from digital multinationals faced the first signs of scepticism on Saturday, as smaller members of the bloc warned about the economic impact from such a move.
• One week before the German election, the latest voter poll has put the far-right AfD solidly ahead of the other "small parties." But Germany's Green party and the liberal FDP haven't given up in the race for third place.
The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) maintained its lead over its "small party" competition according to the latest poll reported by the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.
The "Sonntagstrend" survey by the polling institute Emnid showed support for the AfD at 11 percent, meaning the party could take third place when Germany heads to the polls in one week.
Should the party's double-digit polling numbers hold, the populist party would enter Germany's national parliament for the first time after the September 24election.
The Emnid poll also put German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives well ahead of their Social Democratic Party (SPD) rivals and on track to remain the largest party in the Bundestag.
Support for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), was at 36 percent.
The SPD, under party leader and chancellor candidate Martin Schulz, was polling at 22 percent in the poll.
• Oil markets were firm on Monday and remained near multi-month highs hit late last week as the number of U.S. rigs drilling for new production fell and refineries continued to restart after getting knocked out by Hurricane Harvey.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $50.01 per barrel at 0547 GMT, and close to the more than three-month high of $50.50reached last Thursday.
Brent crude futures LCOc1, benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, were at $55.71 a barrel, up 9 cents and not far from the almost five-month high of $55.99 touched on Thursday.
Reference: Reuters
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