07:02 AM EDT, 05/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar was struggling for traction near the prior week's lows against many major currencies in early European trade on Monday as global markets looked ahead to a series of scheduled speeches from Federal Reserve officials.

Most major currencies were little changed against the US dollar on Monday despite a favorable backdrop for risky assets, which saw European stock indices following Asian counterparts higher as government bond yields rose modestly in most parts.

Pound sterling, the Norwegian krone, Swiss franc and Australian dollar edged higher against the greenback, while the New Zealand dollar and Swedish krona underperformed G10 peers after notching up losses of up to a quarter of a percent.

There was no economic data released by any of the major advanced or emerging economies during the European morning and nor is there any scheduled for the remainder of the session, which leaves market attention fixed on forthcoming speeches from the Federal Reserve's Raphael Bostic, Christopher Waller, Michael Barr and Philip Jefferson in North American trade.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into the European lunch hour and US open;

In Europe GBP/USD was quoted 0.04% higher at 1.2704 after levitating close to last week's high around 1.2712 throughout the European morning with the fractional intraday gain making Sterling the best performing G10 currency. The pound did appear to benefit briefly following remarks made by Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent, who told an audience at the BoE that a summer interest rate cut is likely but said nothing to indicate that such a move is imminent. The next major event for Sterling is the release of April inflation figures on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Europe EUR/USD was quoted 0.02% higher at 1.0871 after ebbing from 1.0884 earlier in the session with the single currency remaining comfortably below last week's high around 1.0894. There was no response from the euro when Italian construction output and Spanish consumer confidence were reported to have risen in March and April respectively. The next major event for the euro is the release of S&P Global PMI surveys of the manufacturing and services sectors on Thursday.

In Asia USD/JPY was trading 0.07% higher at 155.70 after trading in a narrow range between 155.49 and 155.95 through Asian trade. USD/JPY has now almost fully unwound last week's US inflation-linked fall to 153.62 and will be sensitive to the release of nationwide inflation figures in Japan on Friday. Consensus expects inflation to fall to 2.2%, from 2.6%, for April.

Back in North America USD/CAD was quoted 0.03% higher at 1.3614 after lifting off overnight lows around 1.3600 during the European morning, though it remained close to last week's US inflation-linked low of 1.3588. There is no economic data due for release in Canada on Monday though the Canadian dollar will be sensitive to Tuesday's inflation figures. Consensus expects Canadian inflation fell to 2.7% in April, from 2.9% previously, while the core inflation rate is seen falling back to 2%.