Investing.com - The euro remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as tensions over Greece’s debt crisis and unexpectedly weak U.S. consumer spending data weighed on risk appetite.
EUR/USD hit 1.3077 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since January 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3106, tumbling 0.85%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2952, the low of January 24 and resistance at 1.3226, the session high and a six-week high.
Sentiment on the euro was hit by fresh concerns over the handling of Greece’s debt crisis after the country’s Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos rejected a German proposal to have a European Union commission review the country’s budget policy.
Meanwhile, delays in negotiations between Greece and its private creditors on a debt restructuring plan soured sentiment on the single currency.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avoid a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Investors also remained jittery ahead of the outcome of a European Union summit in Brussels.
EU leaders were expected to finalize discussions on a pact aimed at enforcing deficit control measures in the region and to sign off on a EUR500 billion permanent rescue fund to be set up this year.
The euro found some support earlier, after Italy successfully auctioned EUR7.48 billion of long term government debt at lower yields than in similar auctions one month ago.
The auction was a key test of Italy’s ability to raise funds on the international market, coming after a two notch downgrade of the country’s sovereign debt rating by Fitch Ratings on Friday.
But the yields on Portugal's 10-year government bonds rose above 15% on Monday, amid renewed fears the country may need a second international bailout.
In the U.S., official data showed that personal spending was flat in December, confounding expectations for a 0.2% gain.
The weak data underlined concerns over the outlook for the U.S. recovery, after a report on Friday showed that the U.S. economy expanded slightly less-than-expected in the fourth quarter.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.50% to hit 0.8363.
Also Monday, preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation in Germany eased by 0.4% in January, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.5%, bringing the annualized rate of inflation to 2%, broadly in line with expectations.
EUR/USD hit 1.3077 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since January 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3106, tumbling 0.85%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2952, the low of January 24 and resistance at 1.3226, the session high and a six-week high.
Sentiment on the euro was hit by fresh concerns over the handling of Greece’s debt crisis after the country’s Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos rejected a German proposal to have a European Union commission review the country’s budget policy.
Meanwhile, delays in negotiations between Greece and its private creditors on a debt restructuring plan soured sentiment on the single currency.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avoid a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Investors also remained jittery ahead of the outcome of a European Union summit in Brussels.
EU leaders were expected to finalize discussions on a pact aimed at enforcing deficit control measures in the region and to sign off on a EUR500 billion permanent rescue fund to be set up this year.
The euro found some support earlier, after Italy successfully auctioned EUR7.48 billion of long term government debt at lower yields than in similar auctions one month ago.
The auction was a key test of Italy’s ability to raise funds on the international market, coming after a two notch downgrade of the country’s sovereign debt rating by Fitch Ratings on Friday.
But the yields on Portugal's 10-year government bonds rose above 15% on Monday, amid renewed fears the country may need a second international bailout.
In the U.S., official data showed that personal spending was flat in December, confounding expectations for a 0.2% gain.
The weak data underlined concerns over the outlook for the U.S. recovery, after a report on Friday showed that the U.S. economy expanded slightly less-than-expected in the fourth quarter.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.50% to hit 0.8363.
Also Monday, preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation in Germany eased by 0.4% in January, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.5%, bringing the annualized rate of inflation to 2%, broadly in line with expectations.