New York: The euro picked up against the dollar Monday, reaching $1.13 helped by solid German trade data and also reports, later denied, that President Barack Obama had complained about the strong dollar.
The euro got a boost from a widening of Germany`s trade surplus in April as exports grew by 1.9 percent, while imports fell 1.3 percent.
Profit-taking on the dollar`s sharp gain Friday was also a factor, traders said: the greenback surged at the end of last week on a surprisingly strong May US jobs market report.
The dollar was also dragged down Monday after media reported, citing an unnamed French diplomatic source, that Obama had told the G7 summit in southern Germany that the strong dollar "posed a problem."
The White House denied that quickly, and Obama then told reporters: "I did not say that. And I make a practice of not commenting on the daily fluctuations of the dollar or any other currency."
The yen meanwhile clawed back some ground on the dollar after official data showed the Japanese economy grew 1.0 percent in the first quarter, up from an initial estimate of 0.6 percent.
