Dollar appreciates, investors wait for new information on Omicron and monetary policy

 The dollar rose on Monday morning in Asia, ahead of a series of key central bank policy decisions, including from the U.S. Federal Reserve, for the week.

The Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies rose 0.12% to 96.190 by 11:49 PM ET (4:49 AM GMT).

USD/JPY rose 0.15% to 113.54.

AUD/USD inched 0.06% to 0.7175 while NZD/USD inched 0.01% to 0.6797.

USD/CNY fell 0.09% to 6.3625.

GBP/USD fell 0.16% to 1.3247, with the pound reacting to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's warning on Sunday that the UK faces an omicron COVID-19 "tidal wave". , with two doses of vaccine not enough to control the variant.

The market has been volatile since the omicron was discovered, due to concerns about its impact on the economic recovery. However, reports suggest this variation may not be as bad as the fears that prompted investors to pull out of safe-haven assets last week.

"All I want for Christmas is clarity," Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts said in a research note.

The Fed begins central bank meetings on Wednesday, with six of the G10 central banks and several emerging market central banks meeting during the week.

"Central banks will need to strike a difficult balance between omicron-induced uncertainty and rising inflation," the Barclays note said.