European session review: USD appreciates as focus shifts to U.S. June inflation data and Fed Chair Powell's Congressional testimony

USD advanced against most of its major rivals in the European session on Monday as market participants prepared for a busy week of important economic data and the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual testimony to Congress.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.29% to 92.40.

This week's economic calendar includes data on consumer prices, producer prices, industrial production and retail sales for June. In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to appear before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.

Investors will be scrutinizing the data, particularly the June inflation readings, and Powell's testimony for more clues on whether the Fed officials will move with tapering the QE program in the near future.

Meanwhile, the investors’ sentiment remained pressured by a worrying coronavirus situation. The media reported that Australia is to extend its COVID lockdown for Sydney, while South Korea plans to adopt stricter social distancing measures for two weeks due to a spike of coronavirus infections. The data from the U.S. have recently shown an uptick in coronavirus cases.