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Among the gainers versus the weaker dollar, the British pound
broke $1.39 for the first time in nearly three years while
commodity currencies strengthened, including the South African
rand, which hit a one-year high.
The improved risk appetite was also reflected in equities, with
European indexes rising after Japanese stocks surged to a more
than 30-year high earlier in the day.
Many financial markets in Asia remained closed on Monday for
Lunar New Year, and U.S. stock markets will be shut for
Presidents Day.
The dollar index slipped 0.1%, close to last week's low of
90.249 - a level unseen since Jan. 27.
Analysts at MUFG said the dollar could weaken further if market
optimism held.
"We believe there is plenty yet to go in the so-called 'reflation
trade' with market participants under-estimating the willingness
of global policymakers to let the economy run hot and fuel
stronger-than-expected global growth through the remainder of
the year," the analysts said in a note.
Bitcoin remained volatile, retreating to as low as $45,914.75 a
day after reaching a record $49,714.66.
The world's most popular cryptocurrency had rallied 25% last
week, boosted by endorsements from Tesla and BNY Mellon.
The Chinese yuan reached its strongest level since June 2018 at
6.4010 per dollar in the offshore market.
The euro edged higher 0.1% to $1.21310, extending last week's
0.6% advance.
The dollar rose a third of a percent to 105.27 yen, recovering
some of the previous week's losses.
(Reporting by Iain Withers, additional reporting by Kevin
Buckland in Tokyo; editing by Kirsten Donovan, Larry King)
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