Investing.com - The euro slipped to more than two-year lows against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as disappointing manufacturing data from the euro zone dampened demand for the single currency, while Friday's upbeat U.S. report still supported the greenback.
EUR/USD hit 1.2441 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since August 2012; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2495, shedding 0.24%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2441 and resistance at 1.2617, the high of October 31.
The single currency came under pressure after Markit research group said that the German manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 51.4 in October from a reading of 51.8 the previous month, confounding expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
Markit's manufacturing PMI for the entire euro zone ticked down to 50.6 this month from 50.7 in September. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained supported on signs the U.S. economic recovery is on track fuelled fresh speculation the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates earlier than expected.
On Friday, the University of Michigan reported on Friday that its consumer sentiment index rose to a seven-year high of 86.9 this month from 86.4 in September.
A separate report showed that the Chicago purchasing managers' index rose to a three-and-a-half year high of 66.2 in October from 60.5 in September, confounding expectations for a reading of 60.0.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.26% to 0.7809.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a report by the Institute of Supply Management on manufacturing activity.