On the Trump-news front, the American president signed a revised executive order banning citizens from six Muslim-majority countries – including Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – from travelling to the U.S., this time removing Iraq from the list.
“In an overnight trading session really devoid of any major market moving news … there has been some focus on Trump’s second attempt at pushing through the controversial travel ban,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in a morning note.
The dollar index was up 0.13 percent at 101.67 early during Asian trade, while the yen continued to remain under the 114 handle, at 113.92 against the greenback. The Australian dollar was fetching $0.7577.
Brent crude futures settled up 11 cents at $56.01 a barrel while U.S. crude settled down 13 cents to $53.20, as investors continued to search for direction from news out of the CERAweek energy conference in Houston.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that the production deal with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has led to steadier oil price and less volatility, but Russia will not be joining the cartel.
