Dollar celebrates 2022 with gains amid positive new year mood

Dollar celebrates 2022 with gains amid positive new year mood

LONDON- The dollar ticked up against its major rivals as an upbeat market mood on Monday ifted European equities and government bond yields for the first day of trading of 2022. But with London, Europe's main FX trading centre closed for a market holiday, volume was expected to remain limited. While the surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant continued to disrupt global travel and public services, hopes were high that the economic damage of stringent lockdowns can be avoided. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against major peers, rose 0.12% to 95.79, while the pan-European STOXX 600 hit a new record high and U.S. stock futures pointed to a positive session on Wall Street. The Japanese yen retreated briefly to 115.36 per dollar, its lowest since the end of November but gradually climbed to 115.15. The euro slipped 0.21% to $1.1345, while Germany's 10-year benchmark yield briefly jumped about four basis points to -0.138%, its highest level since November. Supply bottlenecks held back German manufacturing activity in December, but manufacturers with full order books expressed confidence that these will ease in 2022, a survey showed. "German manufacturers are confident about growth prospects in the coming year,