Investing.com - The euro dipped on Monday as investors waited to hear the first official speech from the new head of the European Central Bank later in the session, while the U.S. dollar was holding steady against a currency basket.
The euro edged down to 1.1150 by 03:33 AM ET (08:33 GMT).
New ECB President Christine Lagarde is to give her first speech in the role later on Monday at a time of deepening divisions between ECB policymakers over how best to respond to slowing growth in the bloc.
Lagarde, who assumed her role on Nov. 1, has already echoed her predecessor Mario Draghi by criticizing Germany and the Netherlands for not investing their budget surpluses to support growth.
Investors are also watching developments in Sino-U.S. trade talks after both sides said they had made progress toward a Phase-1 deal which might be signed sometime this month.
The U.S. dollar index was last at 97.11, having pulled back from Friday’s three month highs of 97.15.
The dollar initially gained on Friday after data showing U.S. jobs growth slowed less than expected in October, but the U.S. currency was unable to hold onto gains after the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said the manufacturing sector contracted for the third consecutive month in October.
The greenback has been under pressure since the Federal Reserve cut rates last Wednesday and left the door open to more if needed, while all but ruling out the risk of a tightening.
"Global policy rates are converging once again at the bottom. That probably means less volatility among currencies as interest rate differentials shrink and the likelihood of any change in policy diminishes," said Marshall Gittler, an analyst at ACLS Global.
"It's also likely to mean a weaker USD, CAD, AUD and NZD as these are the currencies with the highest interest rates currently and therefore the greatest leeway to cut rates. This is probably why USD and CAD were the big losers last week."
Central banks in Australia and the U.K. hold policy meetings this week and are expected to hold steady, though there is some speculation the Bank of England might drop its tightening bias.
There are also at least seven Fed speakers set to speak this week.
The dollar pushed higher against the Japanese yen as safe haven demand waned, rising to 108.38 from Friday's low around 107.87.
Sterling remained supported at 1.2936 as investors wagered there was less risk of a hard Brexit now that an election campaign was underway.
--Reuters contributed to this report