U.S. Dollar Climbs On Tax Reform Optimism

The U.S. dollar advanced against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, as U.S. Senate approved a tax overhaul, taking a step closer to get the legislation passed by Christmas.

The Senate voted 51 to 49 in favor of the bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, after GOP leaders managed to win over several reluctant lawmakers with changes to the legislation.

The House and Senate need to vote again on the final draft. With funding for the federal government set to expire on Friday, Republican leaders need to put together the votes for a deal on top-line spending levels for this fiscal year.

The U.S. Labor Department's November jobs report is due out Friday, days before the Federal Reserve's December monetary policy meeting Dec. 12-13.

The greenback rose back to 1.3449 against the pound, heading to pierce its early 4-day high of 1.3434. If the greenback rises further, 1.33 is likely seen as its next resistance level. The greenback recovered to 1.1862 against the euro, off its early low of 1.1876. Continuation of the greenback's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 1.17 region. The greenback hit 112.91 against the yen, its strongest since November 17. Further uptrend may take the greenback to a resistance around the 113.5 mark. Survey data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's consumer confidence improved as expected in November to the highest level in more than four years.

The consumer confidence index climbed to 44.9 in November from 44.5 in the previous month. The figure also matched consensus estimate. The greenback that closed Friday's trading at 0.9759 against the Swiss franc advanced to 0.9837. On the upside, 0.995 is possibly seen as its next resistance level. The greenback edged up to 0.6842 against the kiwi and 1.2722 against the loonie, from last week's closing values of 0.6888 and 1.2684, respectively. The next possible resistance for the greenback is seen around 0.67 against the kiwi and 1.29 against the loonie. The greenback bounced off to 0.7588 against the aussie, from a low of 0.7607 hit at 8:45 pm ET. The greenback is likely to challenge resistance around the 0.73 area. Looking ahead, U.K. construction PMI for November, Eurozone PPI for October and Sentix investor consumer sentiment for December are due in the European session. U.S. factory orders and durable goods orders for October are set for release in the New York session.