Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was firm at 93.249 and just off August’s 10-month top of 93.734.
It even made some ground on the yen to reach a major chart barrier at 110.79. A break of that would take the currency to territory not visited since early July.
The euro was steady at $1.1719 as investors pondered the implications of a German government led by the center-left Social Democrats after a narrow victory in Sunday’s election.
The Social Democrats claimed a “clear mandate” to lead a government for the first time since 2005, though it was not yet clear if they could actually form a coalition.
“The likelihood of a political shift to the left suggests Germany’s fiscal stance could become less of a drag on the economy over the next few years than is currently projected,” said analysts at CBA in a note. “This would ultimately benefit the euro.”
Bitcoin steadied at $43,828 after taking a fall on Friday after Chinese regulators announced a blanket ban on all crypto transactions and mining.
The firmer dollar has weighed on gold, though it was a little firer on Monday at $1,759 an ounce and above a recent six-week low of $1,738.
