The dollar is little changed in comparison to the Euro and the Japanese Yen on Monday, but is gaining ground against the pound sterling. The results of the G7 meeting were in focus at the start of the new trading week, as well as some better than expected economic data.
Retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a modest increase in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday. The Commerce Department said retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in April following a revised 0.5 percent decrease in March.
The modest increase in sales surprised economists, who had expected sales to dip by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
With a drop in retail inventories offsetting an increase in wholesale inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing that U.S. business inventories unexpectedly came in unchanged in the month of March.
The report said business inventories were virtually unchanged for the second consecutive month, while economists had expected inventories to increase by 0.3 percent.
The Group of Seven industrialized nations have agreed to push ahead with reforms in the banking sector in order to protect taxpayers from the impact of bank failures. They also indicated support to Japan's efforts to boost economic recovery at a meeting over the weekend.
Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G7 nations reaffirmed their "commitment to the faithful implementation of the G20 agenda for financial regulation," British Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne, who chaired the meeting, said in a statement on Saturday.
"It is important to complete, swiftly, our work, to ensure that no banks are too big to fail," he said after the two-day meeting at Aylesbury, near London. "We must put regimes in place in each of our jurisdictions to deal with failing banks and to protect taxpayers, and to do so in a globally consistent manner," Osborne said.
He also stressed on the need to push ahead with measures to ensure a consistent implementation of reforms to derivatives and shadow banking.
At the meeting, Japan found support for its policies to end 15 years of deflation in the economy. As recommended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Bank of Japan introduced unprecedented monetary easing in April, which drove down the yen, benefiting Japan's export sector.
Though many countries criticized Japan's monetary policy for the weakness in yen, the G7 appeared to show increased tolerance towards the country's recovery strategy.
The greenback is holding steady just below the Y102.000 level against the Japanese Yen on Monday.
Money stock in Japan was up 3.3 percent on year in April, the Bank of Japan said on Monday, standing at 844.5 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 3.1 percent - which would have been unchanged from the previous reading following the upward revision from 3.0 percent.
The Bank of France on Monday predicted that the French economy is set to grow in the second quarter, repeating a modest expansion seen for the first three months of the year.
The bank forecast 0.1 percent growth as its first estimate for the second quarter. For the first quarter, the bank had predicted 0.1 percent growth. The statistical office INSEE is set to release the first quarter GDP figures on May 15.
The dollar has been trading around the $1.2975 level against the Euro on Monday, which is slightly lower than the 1-month high of $1.2934 that was set on Friday.
The British economy will continue to expand throughout this year and growth is expected to pick up in 2014, the Confederation of British Industry said in a report on Monday.
In its latest economic forecast, the CBI projects the gross domestic product to grow 1 percent in 2013, unchanged from its previous forecast. In 2014, growth is seen at 2 percent.
However, it warned that despite the recent economic data being more promising, clear challenges remained both at home and abroad.
The buck dipped to an early low of $1.5384 against the pound sterling on Monday, but has since risen to a 2-week high of $1.5275.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.