Foreign exchange market. American session: the U.S. dollar traded lower against the most major currencies

The U.S. dollar traded lower against the most major currencies in the absence of any major economic reports in the U.S. Markets in the U.S. closed for the Memorial Day holiday.

The euro increased against the U.S. dollar after the speech of the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. The European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signalled at new ECB annual conference in Sintra that the ECB will take action in June if the inflation should weaken.

The euro was also supported by the European parliament elections results in Greece and Italy.

The British pound traded slightly changed against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports in the U.K. Comments by the Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean supported the British currency. He said that the Bank of England could hike interest rates before next spring. Markets in the U.K. closed for a public holiday.

The Canadian dollar traded higher against the U.S. dollar. Friday’s better-than-expected consumer price index in Canada continued to weigh on the Canadian dollar. The consumer price index in Canada increase 0.3% in April (March: +0.6%), meeting analysts’ expectations. On a year-over-year rate, the consumer price index in Canada climbed 2.0% in April, from 1.5% in March.

The Canadian core consumer price index rose 0.2% in April (March: +0.3%), meeting analysts’ expectations. On a yearly basis, the Canadian core consumer price index climbed 1.4% in April, from a 1.3% increase in March.

The New Zealand dollar hits 1-month lows against the U.S. after the release of trade balance surplus from New Zealand, but later recovered all its losses. New Zealand's trade surplus dropped to NZ$534 million in April, from NZ$920 million in March. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to decline to NZ$667 million. Exports to China from New Zealand were the lowest since September. China is New Zealand’s second biggest trade partner.

The Australian dollar traded slightly higher against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports in Australia.

The Japanese yen traded slightly higher against the U.S. dollar after the release of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) minutes. The BoJ minutes showed concerns over growth and inflation views. Three of the Bank of Japan's nine board members wanted the separate reviews of growth and inflation outlooks.