Investing.com - The euro was mostly flat against the U.S. dollar Monday as positive U.S. retail sales numbers combined with Spanish bail out fears sending mixed signals to the currency markets.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.2979, the session high, to hit 1.2957 during U.S. afternoon trade, easing higher by 0.02%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2824, Thursday’s low and resistance at 1.2990, Friday’s high.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in September, beating expectations for a 0.8% increase.
Retail sales in August were revised up to a 1.2% gain from a previously reported increase of 0.9%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 1.1%, outstripping expectations for a 0.6% increase.
A separate report showed that the New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions improved to minus 6.2 in October from minus 10.4 the previous month, but remained in contraction territory for the third consecutive month.
The euro remained under pressure after Spain did not request a bailout over the weekend, disappointing some market expectations and a request is now seen as increasingly unlikely ahead of regional elections on October 21.
Elsewhere in the euro zone, uncertainty over when Greece will receive its next tranche of financial aid remained a source of concern.
The euro was almost unchanged against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.01% to 0.8059, but was higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.29% to 101.90.
Also Monday, official data showed that U.S. business inventories rose more-than-expected in August, climbing 0.6% compared to expectations for a 0.5% gain.