Investing.com - The euro moved lower against the U.S. dollar in Asian trade Tuesday, as talks between European finance officials and Greece failed to instill confidence in a speedy implementation of the nation’s next round of financial aid.
EUR/USD hit 1.3607 in early Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since last Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3603, falling 0.61%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3500, last Monday’s low, and resistance at 1.3937, last Thursday’s high.
Earlier Monday, Greece’s Finance Ministry said it had held “productive and substantive discussion” with European and International Monetary Fund officials, in talks aimed at confirming Greek compliance with terms laid out in last year’s USD151 billion bailout.
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told reporters in Athens that the government was prepared to shutter a number of state-sponsored organizations and carry out further spending cuts to its 2012 budget.
Greece has been trying to secure a second batch of rescue funds approved by European finance officials in July, in an effort to ward off possible default on its debts.
European shares ended Monday’s session sharply lower, with France’s CAC 40 falling 3% to 2,940, Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 2.03% to 5,259.56, and Germany’s DAX slumped 2.83% to end the session at 5,415.91.
Wall Street investors were equally pessimistic on Greece’s woes, ending a five-day winning streak as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.94% to 11,401.01, the Nasdaq Composite Index surrendered 0.36% to 2,612.83, and the S&P 500 fell 0.98% to close at 1,204.09.
On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama’s unveiled his USD3.6 trillion deficit reduction plan which he said would allow the country to begin slashing its debt level by 2017.
The proposal was expected to receive a cool reception in Congress where Republicans, who oppose projected tax hikes, hold a majority in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the euro was lower against both the British pound and the Japanese yen, with EUR/GBP down by 0.29% to hit 0.8689, and EUR/JPY falling 0.51% to hit 104.28.
Germany’s ZEW economic sentiment survey of institutional investors was scheduled for release later Tuesday.