The U.S. dollar rose against most major rivals Monday, extending its gains from the previous session, as a downgrade of Ireland’s credit rating weighed on the euro and political concerns pressured the British pound.

The dollar index  , a measure of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, traded at 81.070 in recent action, up from 80.701 in North American trade on Friday afternoon.

The index rallied on Friday after data showed that May U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by a much smaller-than-expected 345,000.

That helped reinforce a view among speculators and investors that the U.S. economy will be the “first in, first out” of recession, said Stephen Gallo, head of market analysis at Schneider Foreign Exchange.

Gallo said he’s skeptical of that scenario, but that the dollar could continue to rise in the near term.
Brown’s woes continue

The British pound extended its slide versus the dollar, falling to an intraday low of $1.5802 on Monday amid ongoing questions about British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ability to remain in office.

In recent trade, the pound traded at $1.5909 compared with $1.5981 on Friday.