Investing.com -- The euro surged against the dollar on Monday, soaring above 1.13, amid contentious comments regarding the United Kingdom and Greece's bleak long-term status in the European Union.
EUR/USD soared more than 0.19 points or 1.81% to 1.1303 to end a short three-day skid. The currency pair traded between 1.1085 and 1.1307, rising steadily during U.S. afternoon trading. The euro has now gained at least 1% on the dollar in three of the last six sessions. EUR/USD likely gained support at 1.1078, the low from June 3 and was met with resistance at 1.1450 the high from May 18. The pair has remained below 1.14 ever since, as a wave of optimistic U.S. economic data has increased the possibility that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by September.
On Monday, United Kingdom prime minister David Cameron denied making comments that other ministers will lose their position if they refuse to back him in a referendum for the nation to leave the EU in 2017. Speaking to reporters at the G7 summit in Germany, Cameron said that his comments regarding a Brexit were "misinterpreted."
"If you want to be part of the government you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome," Cameron said on Sunday night ahead of the summit. "Everyone in government has signed up to the program set out in the Conservative manifesto."
Also in Germany, U.S. president Barack Obama urged both sides in the Greek Debt negotiations to work collaboratively to reach a deal. The comments come several days after Greece delayed a €300 million loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday, opting to bundle four obligations due this month into one €1.1 payment at the end of June.
"The Greeks are going to have to follow through and make some tough political choices that will be good for them long-term," Obama said at a news conference.
In addition, Obama added that international lenders should "recognize the extraordinary challenges," that Greece is encountering and should work to reach an accord.
European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer, meanwhile, intensified pressure on Greece to revise a proposal to its international creditors, by insisting that if the Mediterranean state left the EU it would not create a problem for the currency bloc. Greece has used the threat of departure as leverage in negotiations, as it stubbornly refuses to agree to a series of austerity measures the creditors have deemed necessary to unlock a critical stimulus package. Greece is reportedly dangerously close to running out of cash as an extension to the remaining amounts of a €240 bailout looms at the end of this month.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, plunged 1.31% to 95.21, as investors locked into profits from late last week.