Risk sentiment remained weak as the debt-ceiling meeting between US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy didn't reach a conclusion. The safe-haven demand for the US Dollar increased, causing gold prices to slip at the start of the week. The US Dollar was further strengthened by hawkish comments from regional Federal Reserve policymakers, leading to expectations that the Fed will keep rates higher for longer. This helped the Greenback recover from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish speech-led decline.