Dollar Mixed on Personal Income Data

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against major currencies in late New York trading on Monday as U.S. personal income increased in January.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday that the U.S. personal income jumped a seasonally adjusted 1 percent in the first month of 2011, while consumer spending rose a smaller 0.2 percent, suggesting the consumption expansion did not catch up with the pace of the income increase.

The European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting will kick off Thursday, in which decisions to make adjustments in monetary policy are highly expected by investors.

The euro was lifted by the expectations of interest rate hike, surging to 1.38 against the greenback in late trading session on Monday.

The British pound also rallied to 1.6267 against the dollar, after a setback on previous trading day.

Meanwhile, the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East still stirred the currency market as the type of risk-aversion investors were in favor of so called safe-haven currencies.

The dollar index fell below 77 in late New York trading on Monday.

In late Monday trading, the dollar bought 81.77 yen, comparing with 81.71 late Friday, and the euro rose to 1.3800 dollars from 1. 3741.

The British pound also rose to 1.6267 dollars from 1.6098. The dollar rose from 0.9287 to 0.9289 against Swiss francs, but fell to 0.9714 Canadian dollars from 0.9783.