EUR/USD softens to near 1.0300 ahead of ECB's Lagarde speech

• EUR/USD trades in a negative territory near 1.0310 in Monday's Asian session. 
• The uncertainty and trade war threat underpin the US Dollar broadly. 
• The dovish stance of the ECB and the signal of several interest rate cuts weigh on the shared currency. 

The EUR/USD pair drifts lower to around 1.0310 during the Asian session on Monday, pressured by the stronger Greenback. Later on Monday, the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence for February and the speech from the ECB's President Christine Lagarde will be in the spotlight. 

Trump said on Friday that he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries by Tuesday or Wednesday, without specifying which countries. The move adds to jitters over a global trade war, supporting the safe-haven currency like the US Dollar (USD). 

"The immediate concern, however, might not be inflation, as there could be counter effects such as demand slowdown. The bigger concern is the uncertainty and the shift towards a more protectionist world," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. 

Across the pond, the rising speculation of more rate cuts from the European Central Bank (ECB) amid weak economic growth is likely to weigh on the Euro (EUR) against the USD. The ECB Governing Council member Boris Vujcic said that expectations for three more rate reductions this year are reasonable, even though it will take until the start of the second quarter to know with more certainty if they'll materialize, according to Governing Council member Boris Vujcic.

Traders will closely watch the developments surrounding tariff policies by US President Donald Trump, as he has repeatedly threatened against Europe. JPMorgan economist Nora Szentivanyi said "the motivation, objectives, timing, and tariff rates are all unclear." Nonetheless, the European Commission noted that it would retaliate 'firmly' against any US-imposed tariffs.