European session review: USD appreciates as U.S. yields rise

USD strengthened against most of its major rivals in the European session on Monday, as U.S. Treasuries yields rose across the board, with the benchmark 10-year note hitting the highest level since late June.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, increased 0.14% to 93.45.

The 10-year Treasury yields were trading at 1.492%, compared with 1.454% at the end of last week. This represented the highest rate since June 25. 

The U.S. Treasury yields extended their last week’s gains, as the markets continued to price in the looming end of the period of the super-cheap money. The latest policy update from the Federal Reserve signaled that the U.S. central bank could begin scaling back its bond purchases in November and end the process by mid-2022. In addition, the Fed officials’ projections of interest rates, known as the "dot plot", pointed to a sooner-than-expected rate hike for 2022.

Market participants also continued to monitor developments in Washington. The U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set Thursday vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which, according to her claims, will only happen if she has the numbers to pass it. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate will grapple with legislation aimed at both preventing a government shut-down and raising the country’s debt ceiling.