• Later in the day, the spotlight will turn to a speech from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Comments reiterating the central bank’s intent to continue raising rates and perhaps even hinting that balance sheet reduction may begin before year-end may encourage the greenback to extend gains (unless risk aversion intervenes, of course).
• St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, in remarks set to be delivered Monday in Australia, repeated his view that the United States is in a low-growth, low-productivity regime likely to last for the foreseeable future and requiring no rush to raise interest rates.
Speaking in Australia, Bullard said any fiscal or tax changes under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are unlikely to influence the economic outlook until at least next year. In the meantime, he has said there is no reason to raise the Fed's target interest rate any further until growth moves into a higher gear.
• U.S. investment bank Citigroup said on Monday it had changed its baseline, or most probable, scenario for the French presidential election to a win for centrist Emmanuel Macron, compared to its earlier forecast of a victory for conservative Francois Fillon.
"We change our baseline to a Macron win (35 percent probability) – Fillon is our alternative scenario (30 percent)," Citigroup wrote in a research note.
It added it had increased the probability of a victory for far-right, National Front leader Marine Le Pen to 25 percent, but said it still saw a Le Pen win as "quite unlikely", while a recent surge in polls for far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon meant Citigroup put a "wild card scenario" result at 10 percent.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump concluded their first in-person meeting, striking a friendly tone, avoiding political gaffes and even agreeing to tackle trade imbalances. But soon after the meeting ended, Chinese state media scolded Trump for his military action in Syria.
China will make concessions to give the U.S. better market access in two areas — financial sector investments and beef exports — in efforts to avoid a trade war, the Financial Times reported. This is part of a wider 100-day plan to be hashed out between the two sides.
• U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso will hold their first round of economic talks in Tokyo next week to discuss issues ranging from macroeconomic policy, infrastructure investment and trade.
• Japan's current account surplus stood at 2.81 trillion yen ($25.26 billion) in February, finance ministry data showed on Monday, the biggest surplus since March 2016.
The result, the 32nd straight month of current account surpluses, compares with economists' median forecast for a surplus of 2.62 trillion yen in a Reuters poll. This February's current account surplus was the largest on record for February.
• Oil prices rose on Monday, supported by strong demand and uncertainty over the conflict in Syria, although another run-up in U.S. drilling activity kept a lid on gains.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $55.49 per barrel at 0701 GMT, up 25 cents, or 0.45 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 25 cents, or 0.46 percent, at $52.48 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters, DailyFX