Investing.com - The euro fell to session lows against the dollar on Monday after data showing that U.S. retail sales rose unexpectedly in April bolstered the outlook for the U.S. recovery.
EUR/USD hit 1.2941 during U.S. morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2986, dipping 0.02%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2934, Friday’s low and the pair’s lowest since April 5 and resistance at 1.3050, Friday’s high.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in April, confounding expectations for a 0.3% decline. The previous months figure was revised down to 0.5% from 0.4%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.1% last month, in line with expectations.
The dollar rose to one-month highs against the euro on Friday amid speculation over a possible near-term exit from the Federal Reserve’s asset purchase program after recent strong U.S. employment data indicated that the economic outlook is improving.
The single currency remained under pressure after a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council said Monday the bank could cut its deposit rate into negative territory. The deposit rate is the rate paid by the ECB on overnight deposits by euro zone banks.
The euro edged higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.11% to 0.8461 and was trading close to three year highs against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.12% to 132.15.
The yen remained weaker against the euro and the dollar on Monday after a weekend meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized economies refrained from criticizing Japan over policies which have resulted in a weaker yen.
EUR/USD hit 1.2941 during U.S. morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2986, dipping 0.02%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2934, Friday’s low and the pair’s lowest since April 5 and resistance at 1.3050, Friday’s high.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in April, confounding expectations for a 0.3% decline. The previous months figure was revised down to 0.5% from 0.4%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.1% last month, in line with expectations.
The dollar rose to one-month highs against the euro on Friday amid speculation over a possible near-term exit from the Federal Reserve’s asset purchase program after recent strong U.S. employment data indicated that the economic outlook is improving.
The single currency remained under pressure after a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council said Monday the bank could cut its deposit rate into negative territory. The deposit rate is the rate paid by the ECB on overnight deposits by euro zone banks.
The euro edged higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.11% to 0.8461 and was trading close to three year highs against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.12% to 132.15.
The yen remained weaker against the euro and the dollar on Monday after a weekend meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized economies refrained from criticizing Japan over policies which have resulted in a weaker yen.