The euro slipped slightly to $1.162, as investors turned their attention to a series of European Central Bank speeches this week for clues on the policy outlook. The ECB will enter its pre-meeting blackout period on Thursday, ahead of next week’s rate-setting decision. Meanwhile, the US dollar gained modest support from signs of easing US–China trade tensions and expectations that the US government shutdown will end this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to meet in Malaysia to prevent a further escalation of US tariffs on Chinese goods - a stance President Donald Trump recently described as “unsustainable.” In the money markets, traders ramped up bets on policy easing by both the ECB and the Federal Reserve, fully pricing in a 25-basis-point ECB rate cut by July 2026 and two Fed rate cuts by year-end.