The euro is under pressure ahead of the ECB meeting and the yuan is falling

The euro is under pressure ahead of the ECB meeting and the yuan is falling

The euro is under pressure on Monday ahead of a European Central Bank meeting due later this week that is expected to see policymakers announce a new stimulus package to support the region's faltering economy.

The yuan weakened on Monday after easing measures in China and a surprise drop in exports on Sunday. But in the broader financial markets, stimulus hopes around the world have boosted demand for riskier assets, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars, which are lying near recent highs.

The dollar was confined to a narrow range against the yen as traders weighed the likelihood of a US rate cut and their pursuit of safe haven assets.

The euro was little changed at $ 1.10295 in early Asian trade after falling 0.1 percent on Friday.

The pound was trading at $ 1.2276, down 0.10 percent since the start of the session.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04 percent to 98.423.

The dollar was trading at 106.91 yen, little changed from Friday.

The Australian dollar, a measure of risk appetite, rose to $ 0.6859 near a six-week high of $ 0.6862. The New Zealand dollar was steady at $ 0.6428, not far from Friday's three-week high of $ 0.6444.

The yuan fell in domestic transactions 0.13 percent to 7.1242 against the dollar, while the yuan in foreign transactions fell 0.22 percent to 7.1231 against the dollar.