Investing.com - The euro was trading close to a 16-month low against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as Friday’s downgrade of the sovereign credit ratings of nine euro zone countries by Standard & Poor’s weighed.
EUR/USD hit 1.2626 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2646, slipping 0.24%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 1.2623, Friday’s low and a 16-month low and resistance at 1.2789, the high of January 11.
S&P cut ratings on Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal by two notches and downgraded France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia by one level. Germany kept its triple-A rating.
French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said Friday that the loss of the triple-A rating was "not a catastrophe'' and stressed that France still had a solid AA+ rating.
Later in the day, France was to auction as much as EUR8.7 billion in short-term government debt.
Meanwhile, talks aimed at negotiating a restructuring of Greece's debts looked set to resume later in the week, after breaking down on Friday amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds, raising fears over a possible default.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.18% to hit 0.8262.
Also Monday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was to testify before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, while markets in the U.S. were to remain closed for a national holiday.
EUR/USD hit 1.2626 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2646, slipping 0.24%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 1.2623, Friday’s low and a 16-month low and resistance at 1.2789, the high of January 11.
S&P cut ratings on Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal by two notches and downgraded France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia by one level. Germany kept its triple-A rating.
French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said Friday that the loss of the triple-A rating was "not a catastrophe'' and stressed that France still had a solid AA+ rating.
Later in the day, France was to auction as much as EUR8.7 billion in short-term government debt.
Meanwhile, talks aimed at negotiating a restructuring of Greece's debts looked set to resume later in the week, after breaking down on Friday amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds, raising fears over a possible default.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.18% to hit 0.8262.
Also Monday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was to testify before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, while markets in the U.S. were to remain closed for a national holiday.