Investing.com - The euro edged up against the dollar on Monday as investors avoided the greenback on fears an escalating crisis in Ukraine may drag the Washington into the conflict and dampen recovery, though upbeat data out of the U.S. service sector cushioned the dollar and stabilized the pair.
In U.S. trading, EUR/USD was up 0.10% at 1.3883, up from a session low of 1.3865 and off a high of 1.3886.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3812, Friday's low, and resistance at 1.3889, Thursday's high.
Investors were paying close attention to events unfolding in Ukraine, after conflict between the government and pro-Russian separatists grew more widespread over the weekend, which weakened the dollar.
Elsewhere, soft output data out of China sparked safe-haven demand for the yen, which came at the greenback's expense against the euro.
A final reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.1 April, down from a preliminary estimate of 48.3 and missing forecasts for an uptick to 48.4. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
Elsewhere, profit taking from Friday's upbeat jobs report softened the greenback as well.
The dollar firmed last week after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, well above expectations for jobs growth of 210,000, while the unemployment rate dropped to a five-and-a-half year low of 6.3%.
Still, concerns that long-term unemployment will remain a problem for the U.S. economy tarnished the otherwise positive jobs report, as the headline jobless rate fell in part due to a drop in the labor force, a sign that many who have been out of work for a long time quit looking for jobs and thus are no longer considered part of the labor pool.
Supporting the U.S. currency, however, was an upbeat report on the U.S. service sector.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a five-month high of 55.2 in April, from a reading of 53.1 in March, compared to expectations for a rise to 54.1.
The euro was up against the pound, with EUR/GBP up 0.10% to 0.8227, and down against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.04% at 141.68.
On Tuesday, the euro zone is to produce data on retail sales, while Spain is to release reports on employment and service sector activity. Italy is also to publish service sector data.
The U.S. is to release trade data.