Sterling scaled a six-week peak early on Monday following recent hawkish-sounding comments from the Bank of England, while the other major currencies were subdued in a holiday-riddled week.
U.S. markets are shut on Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday, while many centres in Asia will be closed later this week for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The pound climbed as far as $1.5435 GBP=D4 in early trade, from around $1.5407 late on Friday in New York, reaching a high last seen on Jan. 2. It was last at $1.5415.
Investors have been warming to sterling after relatively hawkish signals from the BoE recently. Both Governor Mark Carney and his deputy, Ben Broadbent, have said the next move in interest rates is likely to be up.
Martin Weale, a policymaker at the central bank, added some sense of urgency by saying the bank will need to start raising interest rates sooner than investors expect as inflation recovers from current low levels.
For the euro, the focus remains on Greece and its negotiations to secure a new debt agreement with its euro zone partners.
Without a clear outcome, there is little conviction to buy or sell the euro. As a result, the common currency has been drifting in a slim $1.1262-1.1534 range in the last few weeks. It was last flat at $1.1400 EUR=.
Barclays analysts suspect there would be more volatility in store for the euro no matter the outcome. A Greek exit, needless to say, would be unambiguously negative as it would increase the apparent risks of instability in the euro zone.
"An agreement with significant concessions for Greece may raise the perception of risks inSpain, resulting in significantly greater downside risk for EUR," they said.
Finally, a deal with little relief for austerity or debt could pose some short-term upside risk for the euro and potentially slow its descent in the coming months, they added.
Against the yen, the euro was a touch softer at 135.00 EURJPY=R, off a three-week peak of 136.70 reached last Thursday. The dollar slipped to 118.51 yen JPY=, recoiling from a one-month high of 120.48 set last Wednesday.
Among commodity currencies, the Canadian dollar fared well as the recent slump in oil showed signs of having bottomed out. On Friday, Brent crude hit a 2015 high above $60 a barrel LCOc1.
The loonie traded at C$1.2444 per USD CAD=D4, near a one-week high of C$1.2422 set on Friday. Its Australian peer was also firmer at $0.7773 AUD=D4, holding above last week's trough of $0.7644.
Central bank minutes from Australia, the United States and Britain are on offer this week, while the Bank of Japan holds a policy review.
Join the Conversation