Sterling held
steady on Monday ahead of the start of Brexit negotiations, with
investors also awaiting comments from a top Federal Reserve official to
see whether the U.S. dollar's recent rise can be sustained.
The British pound was little changed at $1.2777 GBP=D3.
It hardly budged on news that a van ploughed into worshippers leaving a
London mosque on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring
several.
Sterling has been through a turbulent month, sinking to a near two-month low of $1.2636 on June 9 on the British election shock, but rallying last week as the Bank of England came close to hiking rates after a split vote in its monetary policy committee.
It is expected to remain vulnerable to bouts of volatility in coming months as negotiations proceed on Britain's divorce from European Union.
Investors are focusing on the UK government's stance in the talks, after the ruling Conservative party's setback in this month's election deepened uncertainty over both Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans and her political future.
The UK government may be open to making some concessions, and aim for a "soft" Brexit, said Tareck Horchani, head of sales trading Asia-Pacific, for Saxo Bank Group in Singapore.
The euro treaded water at $1.1194 EUR= after gaining about 0.5 percent on Friday.
The common currency showed little reaction to French President Emmanuel Macron winning a commanding majority in his country's parliamentary election on Sunday, according to official figures and pollster projections.
The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basked of six major rivals, held steady at 97.172.
The index had climbed to a two-week high of 97.560 late the previous week after the Fed raised interest rates and kept the door open for another hike in 2017. But its rally was tempered by Friday's weaker-than-expected housing and consumer sentiment data.
The market is looking to comments by New York Fed President William Dudley, who is due to take part in a roundtable with local business leaders on Monday.
Sterling has been through a turbulent month, sinking to a near two-month low of $1.2636 on June 9 on the British election shock, but rallying last week as the Bank of England came close to hiking rates after a split vote in its monetary policy committee.
It is expected to remain vulnerable to bouts of volatility in coming months as negotiations proceed on Britain's divorce from European Union.
Investors are focusing on the UK government's stance in the talks, after the ruling Conservative party's setback in this month's election deepened uncertainty over both Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans and her political future.
The UK government may be open to making some concessions, and aim for a "soft" Brexit, said Tareck Horchani, head of sales trading Asia-Pacific, for Saxo Bank Group in Singapore.
The euro treaded water at $1.1194 EUR= after gaining about 0.5 percent on Friday.
The common currency showed little reaction to French President Emmanuel Macron winning a commanding majority in his country's parliamentary election on Sunday, according to official figures and pollster projections.
The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basked of six major rivals, held steady at 97.172.
The index had climbed to a two-week high of 97.560 late the previous week after the Fed raised interest rates and kept the door open for another hike in 2017. But its rally was tempered by Friday's weaker-than-expected housing and consumer sentiment data.
The market is looking to comments by New York Fed President William Dudley, who is due to take part in a roundtable with local business leaders on Monday.
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