Dollar slips

The US dollar extended declines on Monday as investors watched for the outcome of events due this week, from Tuesday's key July US CPI data and deadline for Washington and Beijing to strike a tariff deal, to a Russia-US summit on Friday.

The dollar index fell 0.2 percent to 98.073 after last week's fall of 0.4 percent. Against the yen, it traded at 147.46 , or 0.20 percent weaker than late US levels, with Japanese markets closed for the Mountain Day holiday.

"If I'd be playing it any way, I'd be long volatility this week," said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX Sales at Commonwealth Bank in Auckland, citing the unpredictability of the looming events.

Crypto markets surged, with bitcoin rising 3 percent to $121,909.06, not far from its July 14 record of $123,153.22, after President Donald Trump's executive order on Thursday freed up cryptocurrency holdings in US retirement accounts.

Ether was up 2.1 percent at $4,307.25, after touching its highest since December 2021 earlier in the session.

Trade talks were also in focus as Trump's August 12 deadline for a deal between the US and China neared, particularly on chip policy.

"The market has fully priced in the idea that we're going to get an extension," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne, adding that another 90-day truce was most likely.

With the US and China seeking to close a deal averting triple-digit goods tariffs, a US official told Reuters that chip makers Nvidia and AMD agreed to allocate 15 percent of China sales revenues to the US government, aiming to secure export licences for semiconductors.

"I don't know if that's going to be a good thing or a bad thing, but if it puts closure on the matter, it's not a bad outcome," Weston said.

"If this is Trump says 15 percent and we'll call it a day, that may not be too bad."

The report followed a warning that Nvidia's H20 chips pose security concerns for China, a social media account linked to state media said on Sunday.