In late New York trading, the euro bought $1.4398, down from $1.4425 on Friday. The British pound edged up to $2.0213 from $2.0154, and the dollar slipped to 113.02 Japanese yen from 113.42 yen.

The U.S. currency fell to 1.1503 Swiss francs from 1.1533 francs, and slipped to 1.0064 Canadian dollars from 1.0187 Friday.

The dollar edged down after the monthly report was released Monday, but it reflected earlier events such as a decline in U.S. appetite for foreign equities, according to Dan Katzive, foreign exchange strategist for Credit Suisse.

The easing followed the dollar's rise to its strongest level in weeks on Friday after a U.S. Labor Department report showed consumer inflation surged by the largest amount in more than two years in November. That jump was led by gasoline prices.

The strong pricing report suggests the Fed may now feel less inclined to keep cutting rates as it tries to keep inflationary pressures in check. That would keep the dollar's yield relatively strong compared with those of other currencies.

"The dollar is making impressive gains across the board in the face of last week's upbeat inflation data," said James Hughes, a market analyst at CMC Markets.

Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank cut interest rates by a modest quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent.

After the dollar hit new lows against the euro and a 26-year low against the pound in October, many analysts felt that the dollar would continue to suffer through the end of the year, but a rise in German inflation has chipped away at the increases by the euro.

The dollar's recent rebound has caught some investors off guard, prompting many who had expected it to continue to swoon this month to scramble to buy dollars.