May 20 (Reuters) - Euro zone sovereign bond yields were mixed on Monday as markets await fresh economic data later this week, which could provide clues on the European Central Bank's monetary path.
Short-dated yields hit fresh multi-week highs early in the session as officials from the ECB and the Federal Reserve warned that the monetary easing path remained uncertain.
U.S. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman reiterated late Friday that she has seen no improvement in inflation this year and remains willing to hike rates should progress stall or reverse.
Investors expect bond prices to remain rangebound ahead of Thursday's data from the ECB negotiated wage tracker and euro zone Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which will be key to providing further clues about monetary cycle in the euro area.
Markets will closely watch the minutes from the Fed policy meeting on Wednesday, even if recent policymakers' remarks already painted a clear picture of its policy stance.
Germany's 2-year government bond yield, more sensitive to policy rate expectations, was flat at 2.98%, after hitting 3.008%, a fresh 2-1/2-week high.
Speeches from ECB governing council members Francois Villeroy de Galhau and Isabel Schnabel after Thursday's data "could be more intriguing about the pace of future ECB easing," said Christoph Rieger, head of rates and credit research at Commerzbank.
"The G7 meeting (finance ministers and central bank governors) in the latter part of the week will add colour from the international policy dimension," he added.
Markets priced in around 65 basis points (bps) of ECB rate cuts in 2024, which implies two 25 bps rate cuts and a 60% chance of a third move by year-end.
Germany's 10-year yields, the bloc's benchmark, rose one bp to 2.52%.
"The Fed's stance has not turned hawkish," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said.
"Recent comments from Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have mainly focused on waiting for more evidence of inflation slowing, following stronger-than-expected data during the first quarter of this year," he added.
Some analysts argued that a rise in U.S. yields last week after stronger-than-expected import prices was a reminder that markets still fear inflationary pressures and a drop in yields is unlikely unless economic figures show an ongoing weakness.
The dollar rose on Thursday after import prices data raised concerns the Fed could delay plans to cut rates.
Italy's 10-year yield rose one bp to 3.81%.
The yield gap between Italian and German bonds -- a gauge of the risk premium investors seek to hold bonds of the euro area's most indebted countries -- was at 129 bps. (Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Peter Graff)
