Investing.com - The euro pushed higher against the dollar and the yen on Monday but gains were checked as prospects for further monetary easing by the European Central Bank as soon as next month weighed on the single currency.
EUR/USD was last trading at 1.3766, not far from the one-month trough of 1.3744 hit Friday.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3695, and resistance at 1.3794, the session high.
The single currency remained under pressure after ECB President Mario Draghi said Thursday the bank is “comfortable” with acting to shore up growth and stop inflation from falling too low at its next meeting in June.
On Monday, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said the medium term inflation outlook will be the main criteria the bank considers when it decides whether to implement fresh policy measures.
He said the ECB was considering a wide range of policy options but stopped short of indicating what the bank may decide.
He also said the ECB cannot ignore the strength of the euro but added that the exchange rate is not a policy target.
Elsewhere Monday, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde renewed calls for more stimulus from the ECB, warning that persistently low inflation rates posed a serious threat to the European recovery.
The euro held gains against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.16% to 140.32, up from Friday’s two-month lows of 139.87.
The broadly stronger pound rose to almost one-and-a-half year highs against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.15% to 0.8151.
Demand for sterling continued to be underpinned by expectations for a U.K. rate hike in the first quarter of next year as the economic recovery continues to deepen.