US Dollar steadies in lower half of daily range, looks to close above 95

• GBP/USD upsurge weighs on greenback on Monday.
• The Fed is scheduled to publish its consumer credit report later in the day.
• Atlanta Fed's Bostic defends the FOMC's independence in speech.

After finishing the previous week on a positive note following the robust employment figures from the United States, the US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, started the new week in a calm manner and moved sideways below mid-95s for the majority of the day. However, a sharp GBP/USD rally witnessed in the early NA session forced the greenback to weaken and the index edged lower toward the 95 mark. As of writing, the DXY was down 0.25% on the day at 95.10.

Michel Barnier, the EU's Chief Brexit Negotiator said that it would be possible to reach an orderly Brexit deal in 6-8 weeks today and allowed the GBP/USD pair to add more than 100 pips in less than 10 minutes. 

Furthermore, after refreshing its highest level in a month at 2.95%, the 10-year US T-bond yield lost its momentum and was last seen virtually unchanged on the day near 2.94% to make it even harder for the buck to gather strength against its rivals.

Later in the session, the Fed is going to publish its consumer credit report, which is unlikely to cause significant changes in the dollar's market valuation. In the meantime, while speaking at an event organized by the Albany Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Fed President Bostic said that the Fed was designed to be independent of short-term politics and argued that the Fed needed 'wait and see' once they get to the neutral rate.

Technical levels to consider

With a decisive break below 95 (psychological level/50-DMA), the index could extend its losses toward 94.40 (Aug. 28 low) and 93.70 (Jul. 6 low). On the upside, resistances are located at 95.40 (20-DMA), 96.40 (Aug. 20 high) and 97 (psychological level/Aug. 15 high).